Memory Keeper
by dracoD0RMIENS
Summary: After the fall of Voldemort, Hermione Granger, the new Head Girl, begins the school year with no recollection of her relationship with Draco Malfoy. A heartbroken Draco uses a memory keeper, hoping to uncover Hermione's lost memories.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is a complete rewrite of the first chapter. If this is your first time reading Memory Keeper, please enjoy. If this is not your first time, I suggest reading it. I did not modify anything that will change the plot but this is much better written than my previous first chapter.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter does not belong to me. JKR is the genius.

* * *

In a small wizarding village in France, a young blond man apparated in front of a small jewelry store. It was nearing sunset and the store had closed ten minutes ago. He sighed at the disappointment of seeing the red sign by the store's entrance. He stood there for a moment glancing down the road trying to decide on what to do next. He could always wait until the next day, but he would rather not.

He remembered why he was here in the first place. An image of a pretty young girl sleeping on a hospital bed floated through his mind. It had been less than twenty-four hours since he had last seen her.

--

It had only been hours since the end of the Final Battle. He was pacing at the opposite side of the small room. Looking over his shoulder, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were watching the still form of Hermione Granger. They whispered in hushed, worried tones glancing at him every so often. Though they tried to whisper, he easily heard them.

"Oh Merlin, Albus. What on earth are we going to do?" Professor McGonagall asked. She stared down at Hermione who was sleeping peacefully on a bed at St. Mungo's.

"Well, now that we know the extent of the damage of Lucius's _obliviate_ there is nothing else to do but hope for the sake of Hermione's loved ones that her memory returns," Dumbledore replied gravely, watching Draco Malfoy who continued to pace.

"He'll be devastated; you do know that, don't you Dumbledore? By now, he's almost lost _everything_," McGonagall stated.

"I understand, Minerva, but there isn't any other way."

He left St. Mungo's a few hours afterwards apparating back to Malfoy Manor. He had not been there since the summer before sixth year. He did not have a reason to go back until then. He practically upturned the Malfoy library researching and scouring books for the answers. He knew it had to be there somewhere...

--

He ran an elegant hand through his hair while the other hand took out a small book from his pocket. Draco made up his mind. There was no way that he could wait a second longer. This had to be done tonight. He faced the door and brought up his hand to knock.

An elderly stout Frenchman opened the door, immediately recognizing the young man. He looked quite hesitant at first but eventually led him inside the shop.

"Good evening, Monsieur Malfoy," he said. "What can I do for you today?"

"I apologize, Monsieur Martel, if I am interrupting anything, but this is quite important and I could not wait until tomorrow to speak with you," Draco replied.

"No, Monsieur Malfoy. How may I be at service?" he asked. He knew the younger Malfoy through his father who was a frequent customer. The young man had never caused him any trouble but his name led the store owner to be quite cautious. He walked behind the counter, hoping to put some distance and tried not to fidget.

Draco noticed the man's uneasy disposition. He forced a smile, hoping that the man would know that he did not mean any harm. Honestly, it was the last thing on Draco's mind. He had more pressing matters at hand. He put the small leather-bound book on the counter and opened it up to a bookmarked page. He pushed the book towards the old man. "Does this look familiar to you by any chance?"

Monsieur Martel's eyes grew wide after a quick glance at the elegant script and diagrams. "Where did you find this?" he asked. He delicately touched the yellowed pages of the journal. It was a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation. It contained the only record to his family's secrets to creating some of the rarest jewelry in the wizarding world.

"Surprisingly, at my family's library," Draco smirked. He was very proud to have found this journal after spending fifteen hours trying to locate it.

"This journal has been lost to my family for almost a century! Monsieur, how ever may I repay you?" The old man's eyes were almost pleading to Draco. This was an important heirloom and it would mean the world for his family to have it back.

Draco looked down at the bookmarked page. He pointed at a picture of a necklace. "Monsieur Martel, I need you to make me a memory keeper."

--

Draco stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express as he waited for the train to depart. A small smile formed on his lips as he watched a crowd of redheads go through the barrier. The crowd was smaller this year but loud and rowdy nonetheless. Fred and George were the only ones there to see their younger siblings go off. He almost laughed at the sight of Ron trying to escape from Molly's kisses. His face had already turned the colour of his hair from all his fussing. Harry was with them and it did not take long for him to spot Draco on the train. He said his goodbyes to the Weasleys, promising them to write. He pulled Ginny and Ron along, hoping to get a word with Draco before Hermione showed up anytime soon.

"Hi," Ginny said, pulling her trunk behind her as she entered the compartment. "Want some company for a bit?"

Draco nodded, still looking out the window. He heard them all shuffle in and tried to get comfortable. They all sat opposite him in silence unsure of what to say.

"Um, Draco, are you okay?" Ginny asked, hesitantly. "We haven't heard from you since you left the Order Headquarters."

He chuckled and finally broke his gaze from the platform. He turned to Ron, Harry, and Ginny. "Of course I'm not okay... I haven't slept in two weeks! I can't stand it... The thought of her... lying there in that bed. It kills me."

It was quiet again for a couple of minutes. The three Gryffindors really did not know how to comfort Draco. They had become great friends over the summer but they never had to deal with him when he was upset. That was Hermione's job.

Draco broke the silence. He cleared his throat. "Is Hermione okay?" he asked quietly. "I haven't seen her or talked to her in two weeks."

Harry nodded. "She's fine. Ron and I visited her the week before school. She was perfectly healthy... except - "

"Except for the memory thing," Draco finished. "I assumed as much."

"Look Draco," Harry said, "You heard what Dumbledore said. There's nothing that we can do, but act like nothing changed since the last school year. I know this is hard..."

"Hard? Hard could never describe how this is like for me...," Draco replied frustrated. "Can you really expect me to go around with those Slytherins acting like -"

"Hey guys!" Hermione huffed, interrupting the conversation. Her cheeks were flushed after running around Kings Cross to get on the platform just in time. She pushed stray curls out of the way and tried to regain her breath. She smiled as she dragged her trunk into the compartment. "I'm sorry I'm late. Out of all the days, our car chose to break down!" She surveyed the compartment and her eyes suddenly narrowed when they landed on Draco Malfoy.

Harry quickly took note of her expression. "What are you still doing here, Ferret? Are you going to keep on trying to bore us with your old insults? I think you've suffered enough for the day."

"Yeah! What he said..," Ron mumbled, not knowing anything better to say. Ginny stifled a laugh at her brother's retort. 'He sure does have a way with words...,' she thought.

Draco made an attempt at a menacing stare but his heart was not into it. "In your dreams Potter. Your insults will never compare to mine. Have fun with the Weaselbee and the She-Weasel." He trudged out the compartment, but couldn't help to whisper, "See you at the Heads dorms, Hermione."

"Did you just hear what Malfoy said?" Hermione questioned. She couldn't believe her ears. Did Malfoy really call her by her first name? It sounded so foreign coming out from his mouth that she would have easily believed it if it was all in her mind.

"'Mione! Did you hear? Luna's asked Harry out on a _date_!" Ginny exclaimed, hoping that Hermione would get distracted with a piece of gossip.

Hermione took the bait and quickly forgot all about the blonde. "What? Harry why didn't you tell me?" she asked turning to the dark haired boy.

Harry blushed slightly. It only happened a few days ago, after we've seen you. I would have written but..."

Hermione nodded understanding her friend's discomfort. She did prefer to find out in person. "I'm so happy for you Harry!"

"Thanks," he replied sheepishly as the Hogwarts Express pulled away from the station. Luna joined them shortly. They spent the rest of the trip to the Hogsmeade Station sharing stories of the last two weeks that they did not spend in each other's company.


	2. Chapter 2

Draco didn't see Hermione until the Feast in the Great Hall that night. She made her way with Harry, Ron, and Ginny to the Gryffindor table, laughing at something Harry had said. He tried to supress a smile forming at his lips, remembering how she would smile for him that past summer. Of course, none of that mattered now. His father had cruelly erased their relationship from her memory.

Draco can still remember the Final Battle at Hogwarts vividly. He had promised Hermione that he would never leave her side that night, for fear that the worst can happen to her.

Draco was stunning Death Eaters left and right, with Hermione close by his side. He heard a yelp to his left and saw Longbottom struggling in a duel with his evil Aunt Bellatrix. It was Longbottom's battle, he knew but it was the least that he could do to help out. He muttered the jelly-legs jinx in the direction of his aunt hoping to give Neville an advantage. Neville gave a thankful nod, right before finishing off Bellatrix.

After helping Longbottom, he realized that Hermione was no where in sight. He frantically searched the field for her head of curls, dreading the worst. He cursed himself for letting her get out of his sight, even if it was only for a minute. He gasped when he spotted her a hundred yards away, at the mercy of his own father.

"Think you can reduce my son to filth? Dirty, vile Mudblood!" Lucius snarled. "_Cruci_o!" He was livid. He definitely heard all the rumors that his only son was fooling around with the Mudblood. He had not believed it until he saw it with his own eyes. The moment he saw Draco lead the Mudblood through the battle, with her hand firmly clasped in his, he could not think of anything else but to make her pay. He could not let the Malfoy line be dirtied by the likes of her.

Pain racked Hermione's body for the second time. She couldn't think and was starting to have a hard time to remember to breathe. The pain was excruciating, extending from the top of her head to the end of her toenails. She tried to grip her wand with her right hand, but found that she couldn't make her hand close around the piece of wood.

"I'll make you pay for this, you filthy bitch. You'll never want to mess with a Pureblood again! _Obliviate_!"

Hermione was sure she heard Draco scream right before she got a massive headache and blacked out.

Draco screamed after hearing his father obliviate Hermione. Without giving any other thought he yelled, "_Avada Kedavra_!" and watched the form of Lucius Malfoy slump to the ground. He quickly rushed over to the unconscious Hermione and carried her to the hospital wing not noticing Harry and Voldemort duel.

"Draco...," his best friend Blaise Zabini said. "Snap out of it. You heard what Dumbledore said..."

"Okay, okay! I get it," Draco snapped back. "You are starting to sound like Harry everyday that goes by!" He was slightly annoyed at Blaise for interrupting his thoughts, but couldn't help but smirk at the face Blaise made.

He, Blaise, Harry, and Ron had gotten very acquainted the past summer after spending everyday together at the Order Headquarters. Much to their shock, they all had a lot in common and ended up being best friends by the end of summer. Unfortunately, because of Hermione's condition, they'd all have to act the part and pretend that their friendship did not exist. It was another thing that Draco hated about this ordeal. Everyone in Slytherin knew that Draco had been a traitor towards Voldemort's lost cause. While most students who had participated in Death Eater activities had been sent to Askaban, the few Pureblood students who supported the cause still held grudges despite the fall of the Dark Lord and his followers. The only person in his House who would actually talk to him were Blaise Zabini and much to his dismay - Pansy Parkinson who still clung on to Draco hoping for him to return her affections.

"Fine," Blaise sighed. "Can you please just stop staring? It's starting to get suspicious, and you're bound to start collecting drool on the table if you keep looking at her with your mouth wide open. Just pay attention and you can go stare at her all you want at the Heads dorms."

Draco was just about to retort but decided that Blaise did have a point. He looked back up at the Sorting, hoping that the process would go just a little bit faster. As a 7th year, he could really care less which houses the twerps were sorted into. When it was finally all over, Dumbledore got up from his seat.

"The time has come again for me to welcome you all," Dumbledore started. "It is my pleasure to welcome old and new students to Hogwarts during times not overcome by fear, death, or darkness, but of love, friendship, and a new beginning. With the fall of Voldemort this past summer, I am pleased to say that this will be a joyous year for all. I would like to give a special welcome back to our Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Remus Lupin." The Gryffindor table cheered loudly, ecstatic that their favorite professor returned this year. "I would also like to congratulate the new Head Boy Draco Malfoy of Slytherin and Head Girl Hermione Granger of Gryffindor! Let the feast begin."

With a snap of Dumbledore's finger, the food magically appeared on the table. Despite the fact that almost all of Draco's favorite foods were laid out right in front of him, he found that he was not hungry at all. After nibbling on what he could, Draco was tapped on the back as he pushed around the food on his plate. He looked up and saw Professor McGonagall. "If you're done, Mr. Malfoy, I'd like to escort you and Ms. Granger to the Heads' dorms." He nodded and followed Professor McGonagall to fetch Hermione at the Gryffindor table.

Once out of the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall led them to the fifth floor in front of a portrait of a lion and a serpent. In the portrait, the lion was frolicking in the fields with two other lion friends while the serpent looked longingly at the three.

Draco curiously looked at the painting. He cocked an eyebrow and thought that Dumbledore was pulling his leg. That seriously could not be coincidence. He rolled his eyes as McGonagall told the two their password for the year.

"Your new password for the year is absentis memoria. Please make sure that only the two of you know your password. If you have any problems with your password -"

"Yes, I definitely have a problem," Draco said bewildered. Is everyone at Hogwarts trying to be funny? This was definitely not a coincidence.

Hermione rolled her eyes not seeing any problems with the password. "No, Professor. There is nothing wrong with the password. If Malfoy here has trouble remembering, I'm sure he can afford a remembrall."

Draco snorted.

"Very well then," Professor McGonagall said, with a slight twinkle in her eye. "I hope I can trust the two of you to find your way inside. Good night."

After Professor McGonagall finally made her way around the corner at the end of the corridor, Hermione said the password to the sulking snake, as the lion was far too busy with her friends. The portrait swung open and the two of them made their way inside.

Their common room was warm and inviting, with a plush gold sofa and silver armchairs in front of a burning fire. The whole room was accented with scarlet and forest green. At the other side of the room were two mahogany desks and a large floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Two doors opposite of the fireplace were the entrances to the bedrooms. Draco approached the door on the right that had a lion carved onto the doorknob.

Hermione followed and was shocked when Draco opened the door for him. "Um, thanks," she said. She was not sure how to reply to a polite Malfoy. As the house elves had already unpacked her things, she made herself comfortable on the four poster bed covered with scarlet and gold beddings.

Draco started to close the door behind him to make his way to his room just when he decided to speak up.

"Well, Granger... since we are working a lot together this year... um, well I thought that it would be wise if we could possibly put our differences aside and be... acquaintances?" He mentally kicked himself. 'Way to lose your Malfoy cool.' He sounded like a blubbering teenager who was asking a girl out to his first date.

To say that Draco was shocked at her response was an understatement. She snorted, "Yeah, right Malfoy." With a flick of her wand, her door slammed in front of his face.

Draco sighed with disappointment. He walked over to the other door with the serpent intertwined on the doorknob. He entered and collapsed on his bed. Right before he went to sleep he pulled out an emerald ring on a gold band and placed it on his bedside table. He stared at the ring as he fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione slammed her books down at the Gryffindor table during breakfast. "Malfoy's up to something."

Harry tried not to choke on his pumpkin juice. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"He's too... Nice! And for some reason, just because he's Head Boy, he thinks that all is well and he can come up to me and ask for friendship. Is this some sort of mind trick he learned as a Death Eater? Because he wants something from me, and I'm not falling for it!"

With that, Harry did choke on his pumpkin juice. "You must be joking."

"Hermione you don't remember how Malfoy was inducted into the Order? He fought with us and took his own father down!" Ginny said. Harry glared at her.

No one was supposed to tell Hermione if "she remembers" something. It could make her really confused because the current memories in her brain would clash with the information someone had told her. It would not make any sense. With Hermione especially, her brain would go into overdrive trying to process this information and find the memory that simply isn't there. Madam Promfrey did not want Hermione to suffer from a nervous breakdown or some other psychological damage. Even if she can easily be calmed down with a draught, she would have to take a few days off to sort things out.

This was the reason why Harry and his friends all had to act like Draco and Blaise were still the "enemies". Hermione had to figure out herself that the two had fought with the Light Side. Her brain would be able to handle new information if she learned it herself.

Normally, people with these conditions were not allowed out of St. Mungo's for fear of their health, but because Hermione was able to go about her day to day routine, she'd probably a hassle at the hopsital. Hogwarts was where she needed to be - she had to be there for her final year. She was taking her NEWTS soon and no one would get in her way.

Fortunately, Hermione did not have a nervous breakdown that time. She sat there quietly for a while, wondering why she did not remember that important piece of information. She shrugged and came up with a conclusion that they were probably two members that were never at the Headquarters. "Whatever. That Malfoy is still bad news. I'll put up with him since he is Head Boy and all, but I'm not going as far as being his friend or trusting him."

The others sighed in relief after seeing that Hermione was okay. That was a close call.

"Pssst... Malfoy," Harry whispered towards Draco who was walking towards Transfiguration.

Draco turned around, noticing Harry in an alcove. He rolled his eyes and walked towards him. "Yeah?" he asked, hoping that this was going to be quick. McGonagall already disliked him far enough and it would not be good for him as Head Boy to arrive late on his first day of class.

"It's about Hermione...," Harry started.

Draco's ears perked up at the sound of her name. "What happened? Did she remember anything?"

Harry chuckled nervously. He knew that Draco had to be made aware of Ginny's slip of the tongue. Unfortunately, he had been volunteered by the other Gryffindors knowing that Malfoy had taken a liking to him more than the others.

"Say it," Draco said.

Harry sighed. "Ginny slipped that you worked for the Order."

"SHE WHAT?!" Draco said, controlling himself not to yell out loud.

"Relax! Hermione's fine. She sort of looked confused for a moment, but she is fine. I'm sure of it."

"How could she be fine Potter? For all I know, she could be rambling about like some idiot! I am going to curse that She-Weasley if that's the last thing I do!"

Harry grabbed Draco's arm just as he was about to bolt. "I promise you, she's fine. You could go see for yourself. Ginny didn't mean it. It was an accident." Harry left, waving goodbye to Draco and made his way to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Draco entered the library after his last class in the afternooon, knowing that Hermione would be there. He was still panicked when he got to Transfiguration a minute late. Seeing his frazzled look, Professor McGonagall did not bother reprimanding him, knowing the cause of his worries. By the end of the day, Draco managed to calm down substantially, after sneaking glances at Hermione in between and during classes.

"Hello, Granger," Draco drawled. He pulled up a chair opposite hers and sat down. She rolled her eyes.

"What do you want Malfoy?" she huffed.

"Actually, I'm here for a _friendly _conversation. Isn't this what Dumbledore wanted? Interhouse unity? As Head Girl, I thought you should be setting an example." He smirked.

"Is it true?" Hermione asked. She ignored his comment about friendship. Hermione did not have time to think about that right now. She had to know if Malfoy really fought for the Light Side. The whole day she was jumbled in her thoughts, and could not concentrate in any of her classes. It did not make sense to her as to why she did not know this before. Clearly she would have remembered Malfoy and his platinum hair standing out on the battle field. She could not even remember him being there at all. "You fought for the Order?"

He sighed. He sat here and watched her curiously as she waited for him to answer. Harry wasn't 100 correct. He could tell that she's been stressed the whole day, probably unable to make any sense of the information she's learned. She was not alright. "If I answer your question, will you accept my friendship?" He smirked, knowing that she could not pass up knowledge of what had happened during the summer.

"Fine," Hermione said. "I'll take your bloody bribe. Just don't make me regret it!" She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for him to answer.

"Just at the end of sixth year, some girl was crazy enough to try and convince me to fight for the Light Side. Eventually, she convinced me. I reluctantly talked to Dumbledore. Right after school ended, I was snuck away to a hiding place and I fought in the Final Battle," Draco said trying to sound apathetic. He kept a calm composure, hoping not to give anything away. Hermione was not going to have a nervous breakdown under his watch.

Hermione's jaw dropped. "That's all you're going to tell me?"

"That is all you wanted to know. A deal is a deal," he smirked. He turned to leave, happy that he made a little bit of progress with his relationship with Hermione.

"Wait!" Hermione called out. "Can you at least tell me why? Why the change of heart?"

Draco turned around and looked at Hermione straight in the eye. He gave the question thought for a second and replied honestly, "Because it meant the world to her... to fight with her and not against her."


	4. Chapter 4

Two weeks later, Hermione found herself acting true to her word. She and Malfoy had grown to be almost acquaintances. They bickered less and found that both were able to study peacefully in their shared common room. Still, Hermione doubted Draco's sudden change and often spied on him whenever she could.

She noticed that he no longer hung out with the two bulky Slytherins and the whiny Pansy Parkinson. Instead, he hung out with the handsome Italian Slytherin, Blaise Zabini. Hermione could not find any fault in the darker Slytherin, much to her annoyance. The two seemed very close friends and she could never catch them in any mischief. In addition, Draco seemed to argue less with the Golden Trio overall. While he did have some heated spats with "Scarhead" and "Weaselbee" he lacked the usual malice in his tone of voice. It seemed like the boys seemed to poke fun at each other like friends did.

'Harry and Malfoy as friends?' Hermione chuckled at the thought. 'In my dreams.' Hermione eventually gave up at the thought of Draco Malfoy being a murderous Death Eater, having found no evidence to back up her support, and came to accept that he did fight for the Order. Instead, she focused her attention to an upcoming event: her 17th birthday.

"Hello, Draco," Hermione greeted as the portrait swung open to the common room. Draco had insisted by calling each other by their first names a week ago. He said that it was the only way to move their "friendship" along to the right path. Hermione couldn't disagree with him. It was all for the sake of interhouse unity, and she saw that Dumbledore was quite pleased with their amiable terms. Hermione was starting to get used to calling the Slytherin by his first name. It did roll off her tongue a lot easier.

"Hello," he replied, not bothering to look up from his Advanced Potions textbook. His back was towards her but he felt her lingering around the common room as if wanting to say something to him. He got out from his seat and leaned back against his desk to talk to her. "Yes?"

"Well, we've already discussed about the party planned for my birthday this Saturday... and I was just wondering if..."

Draco threw his hands in the air as if surrendering for defeat. "I get it, I'll stay out of your way. Is that all?"

"No, actually. That wasn't what I was going to say," Hermione replied, noticing how Draco lifted an eyebrow in amusement. "Well since this is your common room, as much as mine, I would think it impolite if I banished you for the night."

"Are you trying to say that I'm invited to the birthday party of the Gryffindor Princess?"

"Precisely."

"And why would I want to spend my Saturday night in the company of Potter and & Co.?"

"Ugh, forget it, Malfoy. I take it back. I don't need your rotten attitude spoiling my night."

"God, woman! I was joking. I'll come if it means that much to you." He smirked. "Besides, it won't be a party without me or Blaise around."

Hermione rolled her eyes, hoping that she would not regret her invitation later on. "I'll see you after dinner then." She waved, leaving the common room.

Blaise and Draco were walking towards the Great Hall for dinner when an arm came out of nowhere and dragged Draco into the nearest broom closet. Blaise shrugged and followed Draco.

"Bloody hell, Harry!" Draco spat. "I almost had a heart attack. I thought you were Parkinson!"

Harry laughed. "You wouldn't want to hit the grave early before Hermione's party. It's her birthday on Saturday. You are well aware of that right?"

"Of course I'm aware of it! I'm not some disgrace like Weasley. I was bred to be a gentleman," he said, with slight annoyance.

Harry frowned at the insult towards Ron. Even if they weren't enemies anymore, Draco still could not be as friendly towards Ron as he was with Harry. "Are you getting her anything?"

"Again, that's another dumb question," Draco said. "Besides, Blaise and I are invited to your little party on Saturday. I can't go to a party without a present for the host. That is rude."

"We are?" Blaise mused. "Did you threaten her or something?" Draco gave him a disapproving look.

"Wow," Harry said before Draco could hex Blaise. "I can't believe she actually asked you to come. She mentioned about inviting you, but I wasn't sure if she was going to go for it. Especially since she's been spying on you for the last two weeks." Harry and Blaise laughed. He previously told Draco how Hermione was spying on him, on the lookout for Death Eater-like activities. Draco had to make sure to act on his best behavior when he felt that Hermione was on the look out.

"What did you get her?" Blaise asked curiously. Lately Draco completely avoided the topic of Hermione, whereas during the summer, he would have to cast a silencing charm just to get him to shut up.

"That is a surprise," Draco said, smirking. He opened the door to the broom closet and stepped out, followed by the other two boys.

Pansy took a double-take. "Did I just see Drakey coming out of the closet with Zabini and Potty?" she asked herself. She shook her head and thought that it was probably the lack of food.


	5. Chapter 5

"Whoa. Are you dressing to catch someone's eye or what?" Ginny said, amazed.

She looked at Hermione's ensemble for the evening. The older girl wore a simple short black dress that clung to her curves with stunning silver heels. The dress ended inches above her ankle but was not short enough for her to be called dirty names. The dress had a neckline that showed just enough cleavage without having her breasts seem like they could pop out at any second. Her tousled hair cascaded down her back, in shiny waves. Her outfit was slightly dressy and perfect for her 18th birthday. Ginny reveled at how much Hermione looked drastically different, as she never bothered to dress up for any occassion and usually wore her conservative uniform and school robes.

Hermione laughed. "No... This is just a big event. I'm of age now in the muggle world. It is an important milestone. It needs some dressing up."

Ginny smiled. "Yeah right! Well, we should make your bold entrance now. It's passed nine and I am sure that everyone is waiting for you in the common room."

Hermione opened the door to the common room, feeling slightly uncomfortable as everyone turned their gaze to look at the birthday girl. She passed through the crowd, eyeing Harry and Ron near the fireplace. She blushed furiously as countless of Gryffindors and her friends from other houses greeted her happy birthday and complimented her as well on her outfit.

"Draco, you probably should shut your mouth. You wouldn't want to be caught drooling like an idiot," Blaise said. The two Slytherins were ostracized, as they expected. They stood around the punch bowl like anti-social losers.

Draco glared back at his friend but said nothing in reply. He couldn't help it! Hermione looked beautiful and he could not get over it. "This is a mistake," he finally said. "I can't go through the whole night watching her interact with her friends... in that dress!" He watched as Hermione finally made her way to Harry and Ron, recieving hugs from the two of them.

"Good luck, mate," Blaise said. "But don't expect me to be at your side the whole night. I did not plan on being miserable tonight." He left Draco to talk to Luna Lovegood and Dean Thomas.

Hermione was having a really good time. She was in the company of her friends and could not remember the last time she laughed so hard. It was eleven o'clock and she was currently dancing with Ginny as a mix of muggle and wizarding music pumped. Their hips rocked back and forth along with the beat and they were singing out loud. Hermione was shocked to see Ron suddenly standing to the two of them attempting to dance. Hermione laughed at his attempts, but continued to dance along. After the end of the song, Ginny was now dancing with Blaise Zabini, giving Ron the chance to grab Hermione by the hips to pull her close.

Draco saw Ron's little move and decided that it was enough. He was practically grinding her! He started to make for the two, when an hand rested on his shoulder.

"Don't Draco," Harry said. "She'll be fine. They're only dancing."

Draco made no other movements and remained standing next to Harry.

"So are you enjoying yourself?" Harry asked curiously. He spotted Draco the whole night, tense as ever, keeping a close eye out on Hermione.

"I would be if she wasn't wearing that damned dress. Do you see how all the guys are practically drooling at her feet? It's ridiculous!" he exclaimed.  
"Including yourself, you mean?" Harry teased.

Draco was about to retort, but saw that Hermione pulled away from Ron after the song ended. Ginny brought out her birthday cake.

After a chorus of the birthday song, Hermione was convinced by her guests to start opening her presents. She started out with Harry's who gave her a beautiful scarf in Gryffindor colors, with her initials embroidered on one end. Ginny and Ron both gave Hermione the latest edition of _Hogwarts: A History_ and a silver bracelet with a charm of a book. Amongst the remaining presents from her other guests two seemed to stand out. She was very pleased to recieve an expensive box of Swiss truffles - she loved chocolate and she was sure that this box would more than meet her tastes. She thanked Blaise for giving her a present she would really enjoy. Hermione was shocked to recieve the last present she opened. It was in a small green box, tied with a silver ribbon. It had no card accompanying it but since Blaise had already given her a present, it was safe for her to assume that it was from Malfoy.

Her jaw nearly hit the floor then she untied the bow to reveal a ruby pendant in the shape of an 'H' that was surrounded by tiny diamonds. She looked more closely at the beautiful ruby and noticed that something gold swirled around in the stone, adding to its allure. She did not even dare think how much this piece of jewelry cost. Hermione was speechless and could barely mutter a "thank you" as Draco moved through the crowd and insisted that he put it on for her.

By the time one o'clock in the morning rolled around, the guests were long gone, and the Head Girl went off to sleep. Draco, Blaise, and Harry were stuck in the common room, after offering to help clean up when Hermione would not allow the house elves to clean up after their mess.

"So what is the significance of the necklace, Malfoy?" Harry asked.

"None at all. She just needs something pretty," he replied back, nonchalantly.

"Quit the act already," Blaise said. "We both want to know."

"It's a memory keeper," Draco sighed. He had not wanted to tell the others what he gave Hermione, for fear that they would refuse her to wear it.

"A what?" Harry asked.

Draco rolled his eyes, just about to mutter something about his muggle upbringing, when Zabini interjected. "It's a rare and _expensive_ necklace," he explained, "that stores a person's fondest memories. Unlike a pensieve, one does not step into the memory. Instead, the memories are played back subconsciously."

"Are you trying to tell me that Hermione's going to be dreaming of the two of you this past summer?" Harry asked incredulously. "But you heard what Dumbledore said! This will mess her up!"

"Actually, Harry, it will not. Trust me, I've done my research. I've spelled it so that my face will be blurred throughout the dreams. She won't know it was me. It won't affect her. She'll remember them in the morning, but she'll just think its a dream," Draco said.

"Then why bother?" Harry asked. He thought Draco was being impatient and trying too hard.

"I've got nothing. It is worth a shot. Maybe she'll wake up and realize that it was me and it was not all a dream. It sure wasn't for me." Draco shrugged, collapsing on the sofa.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione trudged up the stairs of Grimmauld Place to her oasis. She had just been training for the past six hours with Lupin and Snape, preparing for the Final Battle. While the other exhausted boys took showers and a long nap just before dinner, Hermione retreated to the Black Library and organized the dusty shelves.

Earlier in the summer, Hermione realized that while searching for a book on Horcurxes, none of the books in the library were in any particular order. It was as if they were just stuffed in the shelf by someone who did not care at all. Hermione took it as her job to sort through the whole library, organizing the books by category and author. Based on the vast quantity of books in the library, Hermione estimated that it should take her at least until the end of summer. Harry and Ron thought her as crazy, but she the library was her sanctuary

She entered the library through the heavy wooden door to find someone already there. He was leaning against a desk, flipping pages aimlessly of a book he had picked up from the floor.

She smiled at her friend. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought that you might want some help," he shrugged.

She led him to the back of the library where she had left off her work. Hermione was gladly organizing a section she thought she would never find in a Pureblooded family's library - classic Muggle literature. One whole aisle, floor to ceiling, was covered with books by Shakespeare, Sophocles, Thoreau, Dickens, and many other authors that she grew up reading. Her friend was also suprised to see these books in the Black library. However he quickly showed that this was not the first time he had seen Muggle books. They busied themselves, organizing books by the author's last name while discussing their favorite works.

Thirty minutes later, Hermione sat down on one of the dusty stacks of books and took a break. The library was incredibly humid and sweat was trickling down the side of her face. She wiped the trickle of sweat near her right cheekbone with the back of her hand. She looked at her partner next to her who was gazing at her intensely.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, blushing scarlet. She felt suddenly self-conscious, which was odd because she had been spending the last three weeks with him at Grimmauld Place and spent the last six years together at Hogwarts. Never before had she felt worried what he had thought about her.

"Nothing," he replied, smiling. He reached out and with the pad of his thumb, he wiped the smudge of dirt on her cheek. His hand lingered for a moment cupping her face before he pulled back. "Just a little bit of dirt..."

While Hermione happily shifted in her sleep, Draco was experiencing one of his recurring nightmares in the next room. He moaned tossing and turning in his sleep, the plush green duvets kicked violently off the bed. Sweat was forming upon his brow and his face contorted into a painful expression. "No...," he moaned.

The Mediwitch started to repeat herself for a second time, clearly exasperated that the teenage boy standing in front of her failed to comprehend the simple words rolling off her tongue.

"Miss Granger has been Obliviated. While she is unconscious, it is difficult to determine the extent..."

Draco cut her off sharply. "I heard you the first time!" he roared.

The older witch looked as if she was to retort, addressing his lack of respect, but instead she kept her professional composure. She left without a word, leaving Draco alone with Hermione.

Draco massaged his temples. He really didn't get why he had to be told of Hermione's condition for the umpteenth time. It was not like money or the Malfoy name made him Head Boy which is what most people assumed. He had a good head on his shoulders. He was intelligent and barely had to lift a finger to do well in class. While he knew he could achieve better marks than Hermione, it just required too much effort on his part. He knew what was wrong with her and it did not even take one Mediwitch for him to understand. But did they really have to repeat her condition to him after each Mediwitch came by to check her vitals? He was right there when it happened!

A part of him refused to admit why they kept fussing over him. He knew it was not an intelligent decision to stay by her side. He was never a constant in her life. Whatever it was his bitch of a father Obliviated from her memory, Harry, Ron, Dumbledore, or even Crookshanks would have been a wiser choice for the person to whom she first woke up to.

It was for the better, he knew, but he refused to let them in Hermione's private suite. A crowd of Hermione's close friends sat nervously in the waiting room for hours, hoping to visit their ill friend who had been unconscious for the past three days. Not only was she heavily damaged by the older Malfoy's obliviate, but the Cruciatus curse made substantial damage to her body. She was given a heavy dose sleeping draught that would knock her out for a couple of days. Draco knew it was selfish of him to keep the rest of Hermione's loved ones shut out. After a complaining Harry Potter, Draco did _eventually_ allow the whole lot of Weasleys, Luna Lovegood, Harry, and a few other Gryffindors into the small private room. After fifteen minutes, Draco immediately shooed them out.

It was so selfish of him but he had hope. He prayed that his worst fear would not come true. Was it even possible for his father to erase Hermione's relationship with Draco from her mind? He shook his head and refused to answer.

He quit pacing after snapping out of his thoughts. He looked at the muggle time contraption on his wrist that Hermione had bought for him over the summer. The dragon's head pointed directly at 9. Visiting hours were over. He smirked to himself, knowing that Potter and his friends had already left. He took off his shoes and transformed Hermione's bed bigger. He snuggled up next to her. The Mediwitches could not kick him out. They have already tried the first day Hermione was admitted. They could not pry him from her side. He smiled falling asleep and put an arm protectively over Hermione.

It was a loud shriek and a constant pain on his face that caused Draco's pleasant dream to turn into a nightmare. Dream Draco wrenched his eyes open. "What...?" he said sleepily. He was shoved out of the enlarged bed. He touched his face and figured that deep red scratches covered him. He looked over to Hermione and found her enraged.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Malfoy?" she screamed. Mediwitches were bound to come any second from all the commotion she was causing. Her eyes flashed madly, she quickly looked around her, trying to find something to throw at him. Her wand was nowhere in sight and she resulted in the empty glass goblet sitting on her bedside table. She threw it in his direction. Draco quickly ducked, the goblet missing only inches above his glossy blond locks. "Trying to kidnap me and take me to your Master? Were you trying to... to rape me?!"

"Granger, what the hell?" He tried coming closer to her to help her calm down, but it did the opposite. Her screams became hysteric. Did she really think that he was trying to hurt her?

The Mediwitches entered the room, quickly in alarm. One of the witches held a small vial containing a dark blue liquid. While two Mediwitches restrained Hermione down, another forced her to swallow the calming draught. Within seconds, Hermione slumped back onto her pillow and fell deeply back asleep.

Draco woke up in a cold sweat after the memory replayed itself in his dream. He wiped the tears flowing down his face which he had sourly gotten accustomed to when he had these terrible nightmares. Despite the popular belief, Draco learned the hard way that it was rare when Malfoys got what they wanted.

He reached over for his watch on his bedside table, finding that the dragon's head and tail pointed to almost 5:30 in the morning. He sighed. There was definitely no way he could fall back asleep even if he tried. He got out of bed and headed for a shower to clear his thoughts.

The cold blast of the shower was exactly what Draco needed. Immediately, he felt his nerves calming down and his brain worked to push the image of a livid Hermione Granger into the deep depths of his mind. He sighed, finally reaching for a body wash. Hermione's rose and jasmine body wash brought back happier memories in which he and Hermione were blissfully happy, spending their days together.

'Soon,' he chanted in his head. 'Soon she'll remember.' Malfoys were always patient whether they wanted to be or not.

Draco turned the shower off, stepped out, and casted a quick drying charm on his body. He had learned early on that the Malfoy family secret to perfect hair was air drying - another area where pateince was tested. He wrapped his towel around his waist and unlocked the door that linked Hermione's bedroom to the bathroom. He stood in front of the sink and performed the rest of his morning ritual.

Hermione woke up particularly happy that morning despite her weird dream. While it was most certainly odd, it was also very pleasant. She slipped on her rose-colored bathrobe over her nightgown and proceeded to the bathroom for a quick shower before breakfast.

Draco was in the middle of brushing his teeth when Hermione opened the door to the bathroom. She smiled brightly and stepped in. Her good mood refused to register that Draco Malfoy was in the same room wearing nothing but a towel.

"Good morning!" she chirped as she stood in front of the sink next to Draco's and began to brush her teeth as well.

Draco raised an eyebrow and continued with the circular strokes of his tooth brush. He had not expected her to act so calmly while he was practically naked right next to her. While it definitely was not the first time, Hermione did not know that.

For someone Draco knew to be as not a morning person, she was too energetic. Something must have lifted her mood. "Had a good night's rest?" He finished brushing his teeth and started to rake his fingers through the wet locks of hair.

Hermione nodded back, toothbrush still in her mouth. After spitting and rinsing she replied, "I had pleasant dreams. What about you?"

Draco smirked for being finally satisfied with his hair and for Hermione's comment. He quit admiring his reflection and turned to face her to answer back.

Draco's answer was instantly lost as he found Hermione trying to hang up her bathrobe on a high hook behind the door. Draco could not remember the last time he had seen her with so little clothing on – which was a lie he told himself repeatedly. He kept track of every detail and tortured himself by keeping track of the days since they have last done everything together – from staying up all night talking to each other to taking early morning showers.

'Does she even realize what she's doing?' Draco thought, shaking his head. Hermione Granger must surely be out of her mind this morning if she was taking her clothes off with Draco Malfoy still in the same room. He lost all thoughts as the short little dress went up higher and higher as Hermione tried to reach for the hook. Draco noticed that he could almost see the nice curve of her –

He snapped out of those inappropriate thoughts. Now was definitely not the time to be fantasizing about Hermione. He could not take advantage of her. He walked up right behind Hermione, with her bum just inches away from his nether regions.

"Let me get it for you," he whispered into her ear. He lifted the robe out of her grasp and palced it on the hook. He swiftly left the bathroom before Hermione could let out a breathless thank you.


	7. Chapter 7

Hermione woke up on Monday morning in a good mood for the second day in a row. Noticing that Draco had already left the Head suite for breakfast enhanced her mood even more. She stepped into the bathroom admiring her reflection before she undressed to shower. Her hair was just slightly frizzy which was a vast improvement since her first year at Hogwarts. It was no longer a tangled mess and over the years it had developed into much more manageable waves that cascaded down her back. Despite the taunts, she really liked her hair.

She then noticed the necklace hanging around her neck. Coming from Draco, it sure must have been expensive. "Wouldn't want to mess this up...," Hermione said to no one in particular. She tried undoing the clasp but much to her horror she could not find it. The chain was too short for it to go over her head. Panicking, she grabbed her wand end tried to spell for the chain to break. Nothing worked.

With the shower forgotten, Hermione yanked on her school uniform, with the buttons done improperly on her white button up shirt and her jumper inside out. She grabbed her school bag and ran as fast as she could to the Headmaster's office. She _knew_ it that Draco had been up to something. How could she possibly not take suspicion when he had given her such a beautiful birthday present? Her necklace was probably cursed with dark magic of some kind that would not let her take the necklace off.

"Lemon drops," Hermione said, huffing, trying to catch her breathe. As soon as the gargoyle let her enter, she sprinted up the staircase to the Headmaster's office. Without even knocking, she burst into the room, yelling, "I think Malfoy's cursed me!"

Albus Dumbledore sat behind his desk with slight amusement and the usual twinkle in his eye. "Lemon drop?" he offered. Hermione refused and quickly strode up to his desk. For a student who just came yelling into the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore looked way too calm and Hermione did not like it one bit.

"Look, professor!" Hermione exclaimed, holding out the pendant to the old man as far as the chain around her neck would let her. "I think it has been cursed with dark magic! I can't get it off."

Dumbledore examined the H-shaped pendant. "I see... And how did you acquire such an item?"

"Well you see sir," Hermione started, "I was trying to be nice to Malfoy and I invited him to my party on Saturday. This is what he gave me. Since I put it on, the clasp vanished!"

"Have you tried spelling it off, Miss Granger?"

"Of course I have!" Hermione replied, slightly annoyed that Dumbledore asked her that. She _was _the brightest witch to step in Hogwarts for nearly half a century. "I knew that it was too good to be true! Malfoy was definitely not sincere when he fought for the Light!"

"Despite your accusations, Miss Granger, I have to disagree. Mister Malfoy was truly dedicated to the cause. Over the summer he has shown a vast amount of patience, courage, and love - more than I ever expected of him. He showed his true colors the night of the Final Battle and we should all be proud of what he had accomplished, including you Miss Granger."

Hermione stood with her mouth gape open. It was already odd enough for her friends to defend Draco, but hearing it from the Headmaster as well truly meant something.

When Hermione did not say anything in response, Dumbledore continued. "You are right, however, that this piece does contain dark magic. It is very ancient dark magic and I have to say that I have only seen it once in my lifetime." He eyed the ruby pendant and the gold that swirled inside the gem. He recognized the piece immediately as he laid eyes on it and tried his best to suppress a grin. Draco Malfoy surprised him more and more in the areas he least expected.

The blood drained from Hermione's face.

"Now, now, there is no need to worry," the Headmaster assured. He went over to the other side of the desk where Hermione stood and patted her on the back. "Dark magic or not, it will do you no harm whatsoever. The clasp will reappear when the time is right."

"But - but what does it do, Professor?" Hermione asked, worried about the necklace.

"Ah, I do believe that I am not in that position to answer. Perhaps, it is time for class, Miss Granger."

Still slightly worried, Hermione exited the Headmaster's office. She had ten minutes before class and would make it just in time to the dungeons. She pondered over the necklace and decided that she would trust the Headmaster's judgment. Albus Dumbledore was one of the greatest wizards of all time. If he thought that the necklace Hermione wore proved to be harmless, then she would believe him. Her worry eased off by the time she reached the dungeons, but was immediately replaced by a seething anger as soon as she saw the blond Head Boy chatting uncharacteristically happily next to Blaise Zabini with no care in the world.

Hermione fumed next to Harry, snapping at him when he greeted her good morning.

"What do you want?!" she said, putting her arms across her chest.

"Merlin, Hermione!" No need to bite my head off. I was just wondering where you were. You missed breakfast!"

"Oh," she replied. "I'm sorry, Harry. I just had to go see Dumbledore. Apparently, Malfoy's bewitched this necklace he gave me!" she exclaimed in a whisper.

She looked over her shoulder to find him still engaged in an animated conversation with Blaise.

"What did that ferrety git do now"? Harry asked, trying to sound as irritated as Hermione. He knew Draco wouldn't do anything to hurt Hermione, but whatever it was he did, it was cunning and sneaky enough to get her fuming.

"He's cursed my necklace! Look, doesn't the gold swirling thing look suspicious?"

Harry tried to understand what on earth Hermione was talking about. For someone who was the so-called "brightest witch in a century" he could barely make out what the fuss was about. "Gold swirling thing" was not something he thought would come out of her mouth. Was the memory keeper toying with her intelligence? Probably not. "Gold swirling thing?" Harry repeated, realizing that he also raised an eyebrow much too similar to Draco's manner. He cursed himself inwardly. 'Too much time with those Slytherins.'

She pointed at the pendant around her neck for evidence. Harry peered at the pendant and found no other words to describe the "gold swirling thing" inside the pendant. It was a beautiful color that swirled inside the ruby. It was highly enchanting and Harry doubted that something that extraordinary would cause person harm. Hermione continued with her suspicions. "And the clasp disappeared. Are you sure he isn't up to something?"

"Um... wow, Hermione! What did Dumbledore say about it?" Harry hoped that Snape would come in already. He knew he could not keep this up for long. He hated lying to Hermione.

"That is my problem! He said not to worry about it!" Hermione said, her voice escalating a tad. "He trusts Malfoy completely! It doesn't make any sense!"

Harry thanked his lucky stars for the first time when he saw Snape enter the potions class. He knew that there was no way he could keep up with Hermione with his terrible acting.

"This is N.E.W.T.-level potions. If you are not prepared for the burden of work, I suggest you leave the dungeons immediately and not waste my time. The marks on your first papers were detestable." Professor Snape was in his usual sour mood and lashed out. He scowled at Harry, one of his obvious lesser favorite students.

Harry scowled back with as much ferocity. There was no way Snape was going to intimidate him this year.

"If you all read the material you were supposed to, which I know you had not - with probably an exception of the know-it-all Miss Granger - you should have been informed in advance of the first potion that you will be brewing this year: Wolfsbane Potion. With a flick of his wrist, the ingredients and a page number appeared on the board at the front of the room. "Find the instructions in your books. Work with your partners from last year. I trust that none of you will explode any cauldrons." Snape left the classroom, exiting to his private quarters.

"See you later, Mione," Harry said. He gathered his things off the lab bench and went to exchange seats for Malfoy. He was so relieved that he did not have to spend the remaining of Double Potions with a very agitated Hermione Granger.

"Hello, _Hermione_," Draco drawled, purposely enunciating her first name. He took up the stool next to hers and started to gather the proper materials, completely unaware that the witch next to him was beyond fuming.

Hermione did not reply to his greeting. She was too mad to even acknowledge his existence. Out of all the days and all of the classes, it was just her luck to find herself in the company of the Head Boy once again. She had worked with Malfoy for the last term of the sixth year, working surprisingly well together. However, that was then and this is now. No matter how amiable the Head Boy might be, Hermione had her suspicions.

On the other hand, Draco was dancing inside. He mentally thanked his godfather of what he assumed to be a very early Christmas gift - Snape never did anything too generous, even for his only godson. Draco smiled, promising to get his godfather a really good present this year.

"Get started on the reading," Hermione barked. "I'll go get the ingredients."

Draco failed to notice Hermione's snappy tone and opened up his advanced potions textbook. After a paragraph of boring text on the history of the wolfsbane potion, Hermione was still not back from the potions cupboard and Draco was starting to get bored. His thoughts wandered a couple of months ago when he was almost in the exact same position.

Hermione and Draco were equally fuming at each other after the Potions Master had paired up the both of them. Professor Dumbledore finally put his words into action about "inter-house unity" and required all teachers to pair up students from different houses. They both sat in their stools as far as the lab table would allow them. They both had to brew Polyjuice potion as their final project of the year. Both being at the top of the class they seethed knowing that it meant they had to endure the rest of the year together in Double Potions.

The first class the two worked together was a complete disaster. They spent the whole class arguing at each other that both bothered to realize that they not only added lacewing flies to their cauldrons but an exceeding amount of bicorn horn. The combination of the two turned out to be quite explosive covering Hermione, Draco, the rest of the class, and unfortunately Professor Snape in a purple slime.

Professor Snape was, needless to say, furious about the whole ordeal. He secretly thought that the two of his best potions students would put aside the petty house rivalries and successfully produce a polyjuice potion. With Draco's natural talent at potions and Hermione's assumed previous experience of brewing the potion, he was extremely irritated that house rivalry got in the way and expensive ingredients were put to waste.

"Granger. Malfoy. Detention immediately after your last class. I hope you two had a satisfying lunch. I do not think the both of you will make it to dinner. Class dismissed."

Snape confiscated their wands immediately upon reentering the potions classroom later in the the day. Left with nothing but muggle devices, the two students silently fumed, scrubbing at opposite ends of the room. Draco was starving. He had been scrubbing the dungeon floors for what seemed like three hours. He cursed his godfather for reducing him to a status lower than a house elf's. At least house elves were allowed to use magic while they worked!

"Stupid Granger, stupid Dumbledore...," he muttered to himself.

"Talking to yourself now, Malfoy?" Hermione jeered. She really hoped that another flaw to her school records would take her chances away at Head Girl. While being at the top of class, being friends with Harry and Ron had not kept her record as pristine as she wanted. It would all be Malfoy's fault if she did not get Head Girl.

"Fighting again, are we?" Snape looked at the two with disdain. Two hours have passed and they barely made progress with cleaning up the walls and floors of the classroom. "_Evanesco!_" Every trace of slime vanished from all surfaces. Draco gave a content sigh as he started to get up from his knees.

"Not so fast, Mister Malfoy." Hermione and Draco glared at each other then turned to their professor. "Declare a truce. Right. Now. I do not need your childish squabbles to interrupt my class ever again. I am sure that other Professors and your fellow classmates would appreciate this as well if I were to extend this truce to _outside the classroom_."

"Let me get this right," Draco said. "You want me to befriend a Mudblood?!"

Snape actually rolled his eyes at his godson's immaturity. Hermione crossed her arms in front of her chest but showed no other traces of being offended.

"Mister Malfoy, I am not asking you to become a member of the Golden Trio. I am just asking you to be at least civil to one another. I do not need anymore students hexing each others eyes out." The two students failed to say anything in response. Snape smirked. He knew just the trigger. "I guess if I cannot get the two of you two more amicable terms I can take this to Professor Dumbledore. I am sure that he will be vastly disappointed that his top students are not going out of their way to promote inter-house unity."

Hermione scowled. Professor Snape was as much as a prat as Malfoy after resorting to blackmail. She had no choice. She could no longer jeopardize her chances at Head Girl any more. "Fine, I'll agree to this."

Malfoy also sighed in defeat. For the past few months, he took any way that avoided a confrontation with the Headmaster - even if it meant a truce with the insufferable know-it-all. He did not need the slimy old bat butting into his personal business, especially at this time of the year.

Draco smiled at the end of his daydream upon realization that getting covered in that horrible purple gunk was one of the best things that happened to him.

"Daydreaming about Parkinson again, Malfoy?" Hermione scowled, as she approached the lab bench. Her arms were full of different vials containing the many ingredients for their potion. "Or was it just Snape you were fantasizing about?"

Draco rolled his eyes. Those particular kinds of insults from Hermione got old long ago. "Yeah right, Granger." He continued on reading about Wolfsbane potion, making sure that Hermione had gathered the correct ingredients.

He knew she was picking a fight now, but had no idea why. He glanced over his shoulder glad to catch the eye of Blaise. It didn't take much hand gestures and facial expressions between the two Slytherins to convey that the problem had something to do with the memory keeper. After years of practice, Blaise and Draco perfected the art of communicating across the room discreetly and effectively.

Draco sighed. He immediately knew it had to be about the clasp. He was going to hear it from her and he knew it.


	8. Chapter 8

It was turning out to be a dreadful Monday for Draco. Much to his dismay, Pansy Parkinson had gotten over Draco's "betrayal" to the Dark Lord.

"Hello, Drakey," Pansy cooed. She slipped her hand in the crook of his arm as soon as he had stepped out of the dungeons.

_Drakey_. Draco cringed. He hated that nickname with a passion. Over the years, he had reminded Pansy relentlessly to stop calling him by that despicable name. Despite his efforts, threats, and ill-treatment, the nickname stuck.

"What do you want Pansy?" he asked in a monotone voice. He tried to get his right arm back but Pansy had a firm grip for a girl. She would not let go. He searched the crowds for Blaise, Harry, Ron, or anyone that would help him out of this predicament.

_Bugger_. None of his mates were in sight. He mentally kicked himself for taking his time to pack up in potions. It did not help at all that Hermione gave him the silent treatment for the remainder of class and left him to clean up by himself when class was dismissed. He knew her well enough to figure that she spent the whole time fuming while analyzing her thoughts and piecing together his motives. She was most likely already in the library researching what on earth the necklace was and how she could take it off. Typical.

"Nothing at all Draco. Can't an old mate say hello?" Pansy replied in that sickening sweet voice. He rolled his eyes not believing her for a second.

Draco sighed. Pansy was definitely trying to win him back over. He tried tugging his arm away harder but it was as if Pansy had used a sticking charm on herself. She would not get off him.

"Pansy... Let go of me!!" Draco shouted. He really had enough. He finally wrenched his arm away from the annoying Slytherin girl and stomped off in the direction of the Great Hall. Much to his dismay, Pansy Parkinson never gave up that easily.

"Drakey!" she exclaimed, chasing after him. "I only wanted to _chat_!"

"Took you that long to clean up after Hermione?" Blaise joked as Draco finally sat down next to him for lunch.

"Don't start with me," Draco replied, recalling just how he _knew_ Hermione intentionally knocked over several vials of ingredients. It was a definite pain in the arse to clean up.

"Drakey!" Pansy panted. She had not seen Draco ran away that fast before. She really tried to catch up but it was nearly impossible with his long graceful strides. She caught her breath after a minute, missing the exchange between Draco and Blaise.

Blaise was just about to take a bite from his turkey sandwich when Pansy Parkinson stopped in front of him and Draco. While she was trying to catch her breath, he took the time to turn to Draco and raise a dark eyebrow. Draco merely shrugged and offered no explanation. Blaise rolled his eyes. He was wondering how long it would take Pansy to come crawling back.

Personally, Blaise was disgusted by Pansy. He was sure Draco felt along the same lines. For a Slytherin it was quite pathetic of Pansy to moon over Draco. She acted like a little lap dog and used to answer to every one of Draco's orders. She praised the ground he walked on and worshipped him like Merlin. However, that was a long time ago. He knew Draco would never waste a moment of his time with Pansy. That was definitely a thing of the past.

On the other hand, Blaise believed that this was an all-time low for Pansy. She must have had to swallow what little left of her pride there was to come begging to be in Draco's good graces. Her arm was not flawed with the hideous mark of Voldemort's but she was an open supporter of the Dark Lord. By midsummer, everyone in the Slytherin house had heard of Draco and Blaise's betrayal to their side. Pansy and the rest of Slytherin had been defeated by the Light Side and abandoned the two of them. Ever since the start of the new school year, they refused to acknowledge them or even eat with them during meals. Draco and Blaise were once the most powerful and influential boys in Slytherin, but now their statuses were reduced to that of a First Year in the eyes of people in their own house.

It seemed to Blaise that Pansy did not care about that anymore. The Dark Lord was a thing of the past and she had more important matters in mind. Blaise truly wondered if pride and self-respect was worth throwing down the drain to pine after Draco just to get wealth and the Ministry's good graces. 'Definitely not,' he thought to himself.

Draco had better things coming for him in the future. He does not need Pansy tailing after him. He already has Hermione, and Blaise was certain that she would get her memory back. As corny as it sounded, Blaise thought that Draco and Hermione were perfect for each other. They balanced each other out. Hermione always made sure to keep Draco's ego in check and Draco did the same to restrain Hermione from being such an annoying know-it-all. They matched each other so well intelligently and could keep up easily with each other in verbal spars. Best of all, Hermione was the only girl Blaise knew of who accepts Draco for what he is but at the same time inspires him to become better than his father. She saw beyond his arrogant exterior and knew that Draco had the ability to be good.

"Pansy, I think you should leave," Blaise said before Pansy had a chance to sit opposite the two of them. "You are not wanted here."

"Shut up, Blaise," she said rolling her eyes. "Drakey wants me here, right?"

Draco wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin. "No, Pansy, you are not welcome to sit with us. I would leave before Blaise loses his patience with you and decides to hex your nose off."

Pansy stood with her mouth agape. She could not believe that Draco had dismissed her like that. She glared at Blaise who was twirling his wand aimlessly between his fingers.

"Yes, Pansy," Blaise added. "Sod. Off."

Pansy narrowed her eyes and stomped off to her usual seat between Millicent Bulstrode and Daphne Greengrass. Draco never refused her before. She wondered what this could possibly mean. She scowled, ignoring the questions from Millicent and Daphne.

Hermione sat in the back of the library, leafing through heavy tomes. If Dumbledore was not going to help her get this thing off her neck, there was nothing else she could do but find out how to do it herself. She was currently leafing through a huge volume entitled _Magical Bejeweled Artifacts of the Medieval Times of Wizarding Ages_. It proved to be utterly useless. There was a whole section dedicated to necklaces but none of them seemed to be what she was looking for. Who really cared about famous family jewels from centuries ago? Hermione had more pressing business and she was starting to get frustrated. She quickly flicked her wand for the time - half an hour left before her next class.

Why would this necklace be so important that Malfoy never wanted her to take it off? She racked her brain trying to come up with a logical explanation but none of them seemed to suffice. If Dumbledore really believed there was no harm in the necklace, was it really such a bad thing that she wore it? It _was_ the most gorgeous piece of jewelry she owned. She guessed that by the size of the rock it cost more than a few pretty galleons.

'No!' she mentally screamed. 'Who cares if Malfoy gave you a necklace that is probably worth more than your house?' She chastised herself repeatedly. It was not about whether or not the rock was pretty, dangerous, or full of ancient magic. Malfoy was definitely planning something behind her back and he was _forcing_ her to wear this thing around her neck. Nobody forces Hermione to do anything without her consent.

"How. Dare. He," she muttered angrily to herself. She tossed aside the heavy book she was reading and furiously flipped through another one, not even bothering to skim through the text. She was livid once again because Malfoy did what Malfoy wanted to do. "Big-headed prat thinks he owns the school..." She continued muttering, cursing the Slytherin every chance she got.

Hermione gasped. By utter luck, she flipped to a page and found exactly what she was looking for. She stared at the page in front of her. A fair faced woman with soft brown eyes and dark hair smiled back at her, wearing a similar necklace with the familiar gold haze inside the stone. "Memory keeper," she said aloud.

_The memory keeper is a form of ancient magic invented by Aemilius Messalla that is seldom found in modern Wizarding Ages. Memory keepers are usually found in the form of enchanted necklaces; however any precious jewel on a piece of jewelry can be enchanted to hold the magical properties of memory keepers. Due to the rarity of the memory keeper, very little record of them have been accumulated over the years. The sparse amount of history known about the memory keeper only notes the name of the inventor and the jewel's purpose, but nothing has been recorded as to why it was invented._

_Over the centuries, a legend has been passed down from generation to generation that the inventor of the memory keeper, Aemilius Messalla used the memory keeper to do nearly the impossible: bring back –_

"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, panting. "Professor McGonagall came for me to fetch you! Class

started half an hour ago!"

Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth, dumbfounded. She _almost_ skived off class! "Oh, Merlin!" she exclaimed. "I didn't even notice how much time passed. Oh, Harry – is she furious? I hope not!" She quickly gathered her books, pieces of parchment, and her favorite quill off the table and stuffed them into her bag. She had never gotten this distracted before in the library.

"Calm down, Hermione," Harry said. "I am sure that Professor McGonagall will understand that you got a little bit carried away in the library."

"But, Harry, I'm _Head Girl_! I am supposed to be setting an example!" Hermione practically ran all the way to Transfiguration with Harry right behind her. She was too distressed to remember to write down the title of the book she was reading to continue her research after classes.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note**: I haven't bothered to post a disclaimer, but just for Merlin's sake I thought I might as well: NOT MINE. Got it? Good. Anyways, quick thank you's to blondiexoxo, brisFH28, & reimihara21. _Special_ thank you's go out to: killersmile & Avanell. Enjoy the new chapter. Thanks for reviewing!

* * *

Harry Potter was smirking at him like a sodding Slytherin. He was starting to cause a commotion with the boisterous Slytherin quidditch team by standing at the edge of the pitch near the changing rooms.

Draco stopped searching for the snitch and dealt with the huge distraction. He swooped down near Harry and gracefully dismounted his broom.

"What do you want Potter? Spying already before the start of the season?"

"Haha. Very funny, Draco," Harry replied. "I don't need to cheat to win against you and you should know that by now."

He knew Harry was joking but it still caused him to tense and darken his mood even more.

"Merlin, Draco," Harry said, noticing the change immediately in his demeanor. "You know I was kidding."

Draco nodded but still kept silent. Losing to Harry was usually not a touchy subject. The four boys often joked about it and even played with each other over the summer. He was just not in the mood to joke around even more today – especially about his failures.

"I thought this should cheer you up," Harry said, changing the subject. He dug into his book bag and hauled out a huge book.

"What's this?" Draco asked, taking the book from Harry. He flipped through it, noticing pictures of old jewelry.

"I saw Hermione reading it. She must have found something interesting or she would not have skived off the first half of Transfiguration."

Draco raised a pale eyebrow. "You reckon she found something about the memory keeper?"

Harry nodded. "I doubt she found anything useful though before I interrupted her. When I left the library a couple of minutes ago she was pulling her hair out trying to look for that book." Harry grinned.

"How very Slytherin of you," Draco smirked. "Thanks, Harry." He waved good bye to the Gryffindor as he slowly made his way off the pitch.

Harry looked over his shoulder. "Don't stall. You know how she gets."

"Yeah, yeah," he yelled back. He pulled his wand out of his dragon hide boots and shrunk the heavy book. He put it in his pocket for the meantime and joined the rest of the Slytherins in the air.

"Now that I got rid of Potty spying on us: Crabbe. Goyle. Stop messing about!" Draco ordered. "I want laps. All of you. Five laps around the pitch!"

Draco sighed. He loved being captain.

--

Two hours later, Draco found himself stalling. The sun was about to set, tinting the sky with hues of pink and orange with the hint of purple and blue creeping in. The team had retired almost an hour ago. Blaise had even called it quits for the day, complaining of sore muscles and an empty stomach.

Draco circled the pitch aimlessly. It was already getting too dark to bother practice catching the snitch. There was nothing else to do but fly. Draco did not mind: he was too exhausted mentally and physically to do anything else.

He dreaded heading back up to the dorm. He knew that they were going to argue. It was, of course, useless. Hermione has nothing to argue about without any information about the memory keeper. On the other hand, Draco could not tell her why he would not allow her to take the necklace off. It was not like he could blurt out: "I need you to wear it so by some miracle you'll remember how much you love me." Yeah right. That would definitely work – if he was planning to send her to Madame Promfrey.

A figure appeared below at the pitch waving to Draco.

"Still here?" Harry asked when Draco flew down near the ground. "Dinner's in about an hour. You should get ready soon. Besides, there is no point in stalling. You know if you don't show up soon she'll find a way and corner you."

Draco did not even bother to reply. Damn, Gryffindors! They're always bloody right! He headed for the castle trailing behind Harry.

He followed Harry all the way up to the fifth floor, where they parted ways. Draco walked through the corridor, passing a few students here and there. He stopped in front of the portrait to the Heads' dorms eyeing the portrait in curiosity. Much like Draco and Hermione, the lion and the snake were preparing to battle.

"_Absentis memoria_," he muttered. The lion growled at him but opened up the way to the common room nonetheless.

Ready or not, Draco had to face the inevitable wrath of Hermione Granger.

--

In all her years at Hogwarts, Madame Pince had never scolded her as much as she did today.

"... Miss Granger, I am very disappointed. This is very much not your usual behaviour! Five points from Gryffindor. I know there will not be a need for this next time."

Hermione stood with her mouth agape. She was standing towards the back of the library where not too many students studied, but she still felt the blush creep up her cheeks. Looking around her, she had most definitely caused a commotion. Books towered her desk, most stacks rising higher than her height. Some were scattered by her feet. Who knew that a simple summoning spell would cause such a disaster?

For the last hour, Hermione ransacked the shelves looking for that bloody book she had been reading. She remembered exactly what shelf it should have been, knowing that the books magically placesd themselves back on the shelves after being abandoned for some time. Much to her frustration, she could not find it anywhere. She even tried to ask Harry for help, but he quickly mentioned something about feeding Hedwig and bolted out of the library. It did not help her cause that she completely forgot the title of the book. She vaguely remembered the book's cover and where she had found it but that was about it.

'Desperate times call for desperate measures,' she quoted to herself. She grabbed her wand from the pocket of her school robes. "_Accio_, book!" she cried, thinking of the leather-bound book she read earlier that day. Unfortunately, the spell completely went wrong as dozens of other books flew out of the shelves towards her. Surprised students shrieked trying to dodge books left and right. She felt bad for the second year Ravenclaw who got hit in the back of the head. He probably needed a trip to the hospital wing. Luckily for Hermione, the books arranged themselves in piles instead of continuing to fly at her, expecting to be caught.

The whole fiasco at the library was a shock to most students who were there. They had never seen Hermione so frustrated by not being able to find a _book_. Most students from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw sympathized with the witch. Fellow Gryffindors teased playfully, adding 'That's our Hermione' to their friendly banter. As usual, the Slytherins took it as an opportunity to insult her even more.

Hermione's frustration over a lost book, however, did not compare to the reaction towards her _accio_. It was as if Hermione had been taking summoning spell lessons from Neville Longbottom! Students were flabbergasted that Hermione Granger, Head Girl, would cause ruckus in a library. She knew better than that!

After Madame Pince had finished reprimanding, Hermione easily flicked her wand making the books go back to their shelves without causing any bodily harm. She gathered her things and left for the Heads' dormitories determined to give Malfoy a piece of her mind.

She found their common room empty, which Hermione had pretty much expected. Malfoy was still at quidditch practice for another half an hour. She sat down at her desk, deciding to start on some homework before he arrived. 'No use of wasting my time,' she thought.

Hermione finished her Transfiguration homework forty minutes later and was once again agitated at Malfoy. The git was ten minutes late! She started to pace about the room in front of the fireplace, detailing every insult she would throw at the ferret. She tried to push out any apprehensive thoughts about what her necklace – a 'memory keeper' would do.

For the smartest witch in ages, it was not too difficult for her to quickly make an assumption as to what magical abilities were capable of her necklace. 'Keeps memories, obviously,' Hermione thought. She had no idea how it worked, unfortunately, since she could not for her life find that bloody book. For a fleeting moment, she let herself think that the gift was rather nice before quickly banishing them.

"He. Has. No. Right," she muttered to no one but herself.

The portrait to the common room swung open and Draco Malfoy stepped in almost an hour late.

Instinct told Hermione to grab the closest thing to her and toss it at Malfoy – so she did.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" Draco yelled, ducking just as the heavy picture frame sailed towards his head.

"I should be the one asking you that!" Hermione yelled back, with as much ferocity.

"You're the one who's throwing crap at me!"

"Don't give me that Malfoy. You bloody hell know why I am furious!" She stood a few feet away from him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh, so it's 'Malfoy' now, is it?" Draco asked. "What happened to our so-called truce? Gryffindors don't know how to keep promises?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "That was before you... you chained me with this sodding necklace!" She spat the words out like Draco had claimed her as his slave.

"Do you even know what that necklace does?" Draco retorted. "Honestly, Granger, if you are going to start an argument, you can at least make it plausible. It's a fucking _memory keeper_, for Merlin's sake." He was starting to get frustrated. Why doesn't she see there is nothing wrong with the damned necklace?

"What the hell are you going to do Malfoy? Sell my memories to your Death Eater father and his friends?"

"Are you listening to the ridiculous rubbish coming out of your mouth? The Dark Lord is _dead_. My father is _dead_. Why can't you just accept the fact that you _like_ the necklace and it won't do anything to you?"

"You have no right!" Hermione repeated her mantra, not knowing what else to say. "You can't just chain me to this sodding necklace and expect me to be okay with it."

"Well I can and I did!"

"What are you up to?" Hermione screamed. She was so tempted to just yank her hair out.

"Nothing!"

"Then take the bloody thing off!"

"No!"

"You are such a... a –"

"A prat? A wanker? A git?" Draco interjected.

"No!" Hermione replied. "You're a bloody spoiled arsehole who thinks he owns the damned place, thinking he can do whatever the bloody hell he wants! I hate you!"

"Merlin, Granger! And you are such a –"

"Such a what, Malfoy?" Hermione interrupted. "A Mudblood?! Say it! Tell me that I am such a Mudblood bitch!" She was practically screaming at him at the top of her lungs. She was utterly frustrated at him as to why he did understand why she was so upset. She felt tears starting to prick her eyes, but she refused to cry.

Hermione did not notice that his expression suddenly changed. He no longer looked furious at her and just about ready to kill. Instead, he looked almost crestfallen and hurt at her words. However, Hermione did notice that his tone suddenly changed. He sounded so... disappointed. "I haven't called you that in _years_." He shook his head, and with a sigh he retreated to his room.

Once he was gone, Hermione started to cry. She really did not know why at that point: whether it was because of the stupid thing around her neck, the exhausting argument from hell, or the truth.

Draco Malfoy _did_ mean it when he called a truce. She knew then that he had no intentions of ever hurting her again.

And that scared her.


	10. Chapter 10

Ginny knocked twice at the portrait to the Heads' dormitories before Hermione opened the door, beaming.

"Hi, Ginny!" Hermione said, leading the red-headed girl to the couch. "I'm so glad you can make it to lunch today... There's something I want to discuss with you."

"Sure, Hermione. Anything for a friend," she replied, smiling. "Wow that looks good!" Ginny looked at the coffee table that was practically overflowing with different kinds of sandwiches and a pitcher of ice cold pumpkin juice.

"Dobby did a wonderful job. He deserves all the credit," Hermione said. She took a seat on the couch and grabbed a sandwich off a platter. Ginny sat down as well and started to eat.

"So... what did you want to talk about?" Ginny asked in between bites.

"You are friendly with Malfoy, right?" Hermione asked almost cautiously.

"I suppose so. We aren't the best of mates but we are quite civil towards another...," Ginny answered.

"I know I've asked this hundreds of times, but I do need a serious answer: do you think Malfoy has changed for the better?" Hermione asked, toying with her necklace.

Ginny made sure to choose her words carefully. "Of course I do. He really has changed. I can tell that Draco has the ability to really care and maybe even love somebody if he chooses to. He is still the most arrogant prat around but underneath it all that he's a great guy. This has something to do with the necklace, right?"

"What makes you say that?" Hermione asked.

"Harry was complaining the whole lunch hour yesterday on what a sour mood you were in... He did not get why you couldn't just accept the present! I do not think Draco has any ill intentions towards you... Besides, didn't Dumbledore say that the necklace is perfectly safe?"

"Yeah," Hermione grumbled. "He did."

"If I were you, I wouldn't be having a row with Draco over it... Instead I'd rip his clothes off and–"

"Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed.

"What? It _is_ a beautiful piece of jewelry. It probably cost him a whole sack of galleons! And you _live_ with him. I'm sure by now you've noticed that he is the fittest guy in all of Hogwarts!" Ginny cried. She had gotten quite excited. She loved talking about boys and it was not too often she conversed with Hermione about that particular subject.

"I don't know," Hermione muttered. "I haven't really looked." She averted her eyes from Ginny, feeling a slight blush creep up on her cheek.

Ginny snorted. "You can't be serious. Have you seen his dreamy muscles? Or that ar-"

"Ginny," Hermione scolded once more.

"Okay, okay. Anyways, my point is: if a wealthy _and_ handsome bloke happened to give me a very expensive piece of jewelry for my birthday I would not mind wearing it _at all_."

"I guess you are right," Hermione said, finally giving in. "It is rather pretty though isn't it?"

--

Draco was definitely one to hold a grudge that could last forever. This was no exception. He forgave Hermione the moment he fell asleep the night of their argument. He could not hold it over her head that she could not remember how much he had changed and how much she had _loved_ how he had changed. It was not her fault that she could not remember that he promised her that he would never hurt her intentionally ever again. While she was forgiven such a long time ago, Draco would not apologize to her.

He was a Malfoy – stubborn and always right. He had _nothing_ to apologize for. He was never at fault in the first place. Everything he did was for Hermione's well-being. It was not his fault that she did not realize that.

His life sucked, really. The girl he hated the most with every fiber of his being suddenly became the girl he _loved_ with every fiber of his being. And when he thought life was absolutely perfect with his wonderful girlfriend his own _father_ zaps her memory of their relationship. Now, she's not even talking to him. Two days of no communication whatsoever. He was getting the cold shoulder. She would not even _glare_ at him. She handled all the Prefects meetings ignoring him the whole time, not asking for his input. She left the common room before he even woke up in the mornings and got back way after he had fallen asleep.

"You're sulking. Again," Blaise sighed. "You're a great way to start off a Wednesday morning, mate." He sat down next to Draco at their usual spots at the Slytherin table. Blaise wasted no time filling his plate with various pastries.

"It is not _my_ fault," Draco said, stirring his spoon in his porridge bowl. He really had not been eating – or sleeping - these past couple of days. It amazed him as to why he even bothered to make an appearance at the Great Hall that morning.

"Well... technically, if it weren't for you and your memory keeper, she would not be mad at you in the first place."

Draco glared at his best friend. "You aren't helping."

"Actually, I am," Blaise replied, nonchalantly and buttered a croissant. "I'm helping _myself_. Why don't you try apologizing to Hermione so you can stop bitching and moaning the whole day? As much as you are my mate, it is getting infuriating."

"You can't make me." Draco pushed his uneaten bowl of porridge away.

"Draco..," Blaise sighed once more, "Sometimes I forget you're seventeen." He took a bite from his croissant and shook his head at Draco disappointedly.

--

Out of all the people who can plague her thoughts, no one other than Draco Malfoy kept her up half the night. Ever since their heated argument on Monday night, Hermione had been ignoring him. For the most part, Hermione was not even angry at him anymore which was all because of Ginny. Instead, Hermione was slightly embarrassed over the things she said to him. It was not very fair of her to accuse him of selling her memories out to the Voldemort – even if he was dead. She felt even worse when she assumed that he was going to call her a 'Mudblood'. He was absolutely correct – she had not remembered him calling her that awful name since the fifth year. She really did not know how to face him after that and was even more uncomfortable to apologize.

She was spending the rest of her afternoon in the secluded corner of the library – the same spot where she had caused a disaster. She used the same old excuse to no one but herself that she needed to do research and she was absolutely not hiding out from Draco who did not have quidditch practice. She read a copy of _The Dream Oracle_, making sure to hide it behind her copy of _Hogwarts: A History_. There was completely no way she was going to get caught with a book on divination.

She recalled her dream which she surprisingly remembered vividly, taking notes of anything "significant." Ever since the night of her party, these strange dreams have been plaguing her mind. They were very pleasant, but Hermione found it odd that every night she would dream about the same guy. Having a dream about the same person three days in a row was enough to catch her attention. She believed very little in coincidences. Something suspicious was going on.

--

"I'm bored," the boy whined. He shut close the book he was reading. He pushed back his chair giving him some room and propped his feet up on the table.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Put your feet down. We're at the library."

"So? No one's here," he replied. "They're all out having fun unlike us." He pouted.

"Well, we'd be done a lot sooner if you worked harder instead of taking a break," she said in her usual know-it-all voice, not bothering to look up from her text.

He yawned. "No, I don't think so... Do you want to play a game?"

"What?" she asked. She tore her glance away from her book and looked up at him.

"You know... a game. I am bored to death and we both know we could use a break for ten minutes."

"Oh alright. What game should we play?" She shut her own book and put it on top of her companion's.

"_Weeellll_, I was thinking we could play truth or dare. Without the dare part because I know you'll never consent."

"No. Absolutely not. I don't want you prying into my personal business!" She crossed her arms over her chest.

He rolled his eyes back at her. "Merlin, woman! Don't you know how to have any fun? If you must know, _you_ will also get to ask me questions."

She thought about it for a second and sighed. "Alright. But I get to go first."

He grinned. "Excellent."

"What's your favourite colour?" she asked, unsure of asking anything controversial.

He laughed wholeheartedly. "Are you serious? I gave you the chance to go first and that's what you want to ask me?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "Fine. Suit yourself. Did you actually lose your virginity last year?" she asked nonchalantly, admiring her nails. Her cheeks slightly coloured, surprised that she had the audacity to ask such a question.

His eyes grew wide. He definitely did not expect her to ask that question. He did not think she would have it in her to talk about sex. He thought for a minute whether or not he should lie to her for the fun of it but decided against it. He wanted truthful answers from her so it would only be fair if he reciprocated. "Yes," he simply said but continued when he saw her mouth drop open. "But its not to the girl you think. That's a complete lie. I haven't even _snogged_ the girl, much less shag her."

"Who was it then?" she blurted out before she could stop herself. She had heard all the rumours last year about the so-called Slytherin Sex God. She was not sure whether or not to believe the story but always wondered about its validity.

He smirked. "Ah, ah, ah," he said wagging a finger at her. "You only get to ask me one question. It's my turn now."

She narrowed her eyes. "Fine."

"It's only fair that I ask, Granger: are _you_ a virgin?"

She could not hide the blush that invaded her cheeks. She looked down at her lap, muttering, "Yes." She cringed inwardly, waiting for the assault of insults. She mustered up the courage to look back up at him when it did not come.

He caught her gaze and simply said, "It's your turn now."

She nodded; still unbelieving that he did not choose to torment her. "Would you rather... be best friends with Harry Potter or snog Pansy Parkinson?"

The guy's face contorted into a look of pure disgust. "I'll take Potter any day!" He shuddered tremendously at the thought of snogging with Pansy. "There is no way you could get me to touch that girl. She is not only revolting but she is also the most irritating person I know – which is a feat, I must say because someone else I know comes in a close second," he replied, raising an eyebrow at her.

"As if! I don't come nearly as close to Parkinson. I am not _that_ annoying." She got up on her chair and put her hand on her hip. She imitated Pansy as best as she could by walking around the table seductively towards her companion. "'Babyyyyyyy,'" she cooed in a high pitched voice. "'Why don't you talk to me anymore?'" She pouted at him and batted her eyelashes endlessly. "'Don't you like my new robes?'"

He laughed at how ridiculous she sounded. It was as if Pansy had invaded Hermione's body. "You're not half bad. You just missed out on how she would jiggle her chest at me."

She gave him a half-hearted glare and a playful shove. He grinned back at her. "I was kidding! Okay... my turn: snogging Potter or Weasley?"

It was her turn to look at him with a face of disgust. "That's like incest! Harry and Ron are practically my _brothers_."

"Answer it," he said. He would not let her back out of it.

"Fine...," she replied. "I guess I would pick Ron."

"Ew," he answered in response. He stuck his tongue out and pretended to gag.

Hermione snorted. "You wouldn't gag if you heard what Ginny said about Harry. I think she described it as equal to 'kissing Fang.' At least Ron has _experience_."

He laughed again, picturing Harry slobbering over the ginger-haired female. "I guess you have a point."

The two were quiet for a minute as Hermione pondered over the next question she was to ask. She chewed her lip in concentration, hoping to pick out a good one. "Okay, I got one: did you ever fawn over Fleur Delacour?"

"Of course I did!" he answered, not even giving it a second thought. "She's part veela. There would have been something wrong with me if I had not."

Hermione did not reply. She just sat there with her nose scrunched up as if she smelled something putrid.

"What's wrong with Fleur?"

"I think she's worse than Pansy!"

"But she's nice!" he replied.

"A little bit _too_ nice if you ask me." She sauntered over to his side of the table again, mimicking Fleur. "Oh, 'arry, eet vas so nice of you to 'elp my sister. You are my 'ero." She clutched at her chest, and pretended to swoon.

He laughed again. "Maybe you're right. But you're doing it wrong again!" He got up from his seat and walked over to Hermione. "Oh, Meester Zabini. You are so 'andsome and polite. Eet is such a pleasure to meet you. My mother was right. Ze boys at 'ogwarts are more attractive. Vould you like to see my room?" He batted his eyelashes suggestively. He walked around the table, strutting and blowing out kisses.

Hermione had to admit, her friend made a funnier Fleur than she did. His accent was impeccable and he seemed to mimic the French student's every action perfectly. She doubled over laughing. She had to clutch at the table's edge to keep her from falling over to the floor. Sooner or later, both of them were laughing so hard from imitating Fleur and Pansy. They took turns with their best impersonations, sending each other into fits of giggles.

When their laughter finally died down and they could stop clutching at their sides, he smiled at her genuinely. "Don't tell anyone, but I kind of like hanging out with you."

--

As much as Hermione could recall from her dream, she could not point out anything of significance except for their conversation and the fact that they were in the library. She looked through the _Dream Oracle_, looking up things she had on her list. For some reason, she could not find anything that had to do with books or a library. When she finally found one on her list, she felt triumphant:

_Imitation - To dream that you are imitating others, suggests that you are experiencing doubts in your own decisions. Alternatively, it means that you hold them in high regards and are trying to learn from their wisdom._

She frowned. That was definitely not the case. There was no way she holds Fleur and Pansy in high regards, nor was she yearning to learn from their wisdom.

"Merlin, this stuff truly is rubbish!" she muttered. She tried looking for other things of "significance" on her list, but got no other luck. She shut the book in disgust, regretting opening it up in the first place. "That was a waste of time."

It still bothered her to no end that no matter how vividly she could remember her dreams she could still not point out who this mystery guy was. He seemed so familiar, but at the same time she could not figure out who he was. She highly doubted that he existed – he was too perfect. If Hermione had to list all the qualities she would like in a bloke, for some odd reason, she knew the mystery man from her dreams would fit. He was witty, sarcastic, and confident but he was also gentle, intelligent, well-mannered, and a pleasure to be company. She smiled dreamily. 'If only he wasn't a figment of my imagination...' she thought.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews. As always, killersmile is the **best** for beta's and encouragement. 3

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? It's not mine.

* * *

Pansy debated the idea in her head for the tenth time. She _had_ to get information on Draco. Ever since her brief interaction with him, she was down-right suspicious. Draco never minded her company before. They were practically inseparable for the most part of sixth year. He started to act odd near the end of school, but Pansy figured that it was because of his involvement with the Order of the Phoenix. She did not get why he was fussing so much. She already forgave him. Isn't that why he avoided her? Because he felt guilty of betraying her and his friends? The War was over and they should all move on.

Although Pansy did not have any evidence, her intuition told her that Draco did not have time for her because there was someone else. The thought of another girl fawning over him made her want to retch. The two of them practically grew up together. Wasn't that some kind of rule? First come first served. Pansy was definitely the first to lay eyes on Draco and she would not allow any girl to come in her way.

She listed the possible candidates for her grueling interrogation. 'Crabbe and Goyle? No. They would not do at all. Drakey hasn't talked to them since... I can't even remember! Zabini is out of the question. He's such a tosser...'

She sighed in defeat. "Mudblood Granger it is, then," she said. She made her way through the library, asking a younger Slytherin for the whereabouts of the bushy-headed Head Girl. The younger girl pointed towards the back of the library and ran off as soon as Pansy diverted her attention to the direction pointed.

Hermione's back was towards Pansy and did not notice her approach.

"Wow, Granger. I never thought I'd catch _you_ to be the one in possession of a copy of _The Dream Oracle_," Pansy said.

Hermione stiffened. _Busted_.

"Anyways, Granger, I thought we'd have a little chat." She sat down at the chair opposite Hermione's.

"What do you want Parkinson?" Hermione asked, narrowing her eyes. Since when did Pansy Parkinson sit down to "have a chat"? The last time the two had exchanged words, it ended with an insult and a very nasty hex.

Pansy pouted. "I don't think that's an appropriate tone of voice for the Head Girl talking to a concerned student. Don't you think?"

"Well, Miss Parkinson," Hermione started. "What would you like to discuss this afternoon?" Hermione forced a small smile.

"That's much better."

Hermione tried to contain herself. 'Don't you dare hex her...,' she thought. 'She is only trying to provoke you. Just calm down.'

"So how is the Head Boy doing these days?" Pansy asked nonchalantly.

"You came to talk to me about Malfoy?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Why would you want to talk to _me_ out of everyone else? I'm not exactly his best mate."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "You share dorms, if I recall correctly."

Hermione nodded. "So? What's that have to do anything?"

"Merlin, Granger!" Pansy exclaimed. "You are _bloody_ thick. Is. Draco. Shagging. Anyone?"

Hermione looked at Pansy with her mouth hanging open. She could barely find the words to reply. "How should _I_ know that? Why would _I _even want to _know_ what he does in his room? If he –if he..."

Pansy rolled her eyes once more. "Once a prude, always a prude. Thanks for nothing Granger." She got up in her seat and sashayed away from Hermione.

Pansy knew that talking to Hermione was a bad idea in the first place. She should have trusted her gut and found information elsewhere. Now the Head Girl had something to be suspicious about. Pansy would have to be more careful next time. She racked her brain for other ways to get answers...

Hermione barely budged since her encounter with Pansy. Not only could she get the dread of apologizing to Draco out of her mind but she also could not escape the thought of Draco Malfoy shagging some girl in the next room. For some unfathomable reason, she did not find the thought revolting at all.

She wondered why Pansy was so interested in Draco's sex life. By what Hermione had noticed, Draco barely gave the Slytherin girl a second glance since the beginning of the term. Pansy never seemed to be bothered by this at all, up until recently. She guessed that it had something to do with the fact that Draco had switched sides in the War. Apparently, Pansy did not take that long to get over a grudge... She was back fawning after Draco Malfoy and the bloody ground he walked on.

She never said anything to Pansy, but she did not think that the girl had to worry about Draco shagging any girl. Hermione thought that she would have noticed by now if Draco had been sneaking in some slag every night. On the other hand, Hermione doubted that she would have revealed any information to the pug-faced girl if she had known anything. She thought about some imaginary pretty girl in Ravenclaw who would catch the brutal end of Pansy's revenge. No. That would not do at all. Hermione would not be an accomplice to Pansy's actions.

Hermione got up from the chair and started to collect her things of the table. She pushed all inappropriate thoughts of the Head Boy out of her mind, preparing herself for yet another confrontation. She rehearsed in her mind, 'Draco, I apologize for my insensitive comments the other day. It was completely uncalled for and I let my anger get the best of me. Please accept my apology. It was rather immature of me not to put our differences aside.'

Sadly, it was easier said than done. Hermione did not know if she had what it took to get the words out of her mouth. Like most people, Hermione hated apologizing. It was bad enough to admit to herself that she was wrong, but to have to admit it to Malfoy was another thing. She pictured Malfoy shaking his head and rejecting her apology. She would not have been too surprised if that were to happen. She made terrible accusations and she hated that she could not take it back. At that point, the fact that Draco had unwillingly chained Hermione with the memory keeper was far from her thoughts.

Hermione exited the library and made her way down to the Great Hall. Malfoy could wait. She was in no rush of apologizing.

--

Blaise entered the Great Hall for dinner and found Draco already sitting at their usual spots. He seemed to be pushing his food around his plate for the sixth meal in a row. Blaise shook his head. He couldn't stand it when Draco moped.

"Mmm. Dinner smells delicious. I love a hearty piece of salmon!" He took the seat across from Draco and put a piece of herb-crusted salmon and spinach onto his plate. He frowned, looking at Draco. "Are you going to sulk for the rest of the meal? Frankly, I like a good conversation along with my supper. I could always choose to sit with Harry and Ron, you know."

Draco looked up from his plate. His forehead was wrinkled in distraught. "Whatever, Zabini. Sod off for all I care," he replied in a dejected voice.

Blaise groaned. "I don't get why you just can't apologize to Granger. All you have to do is admit that you were wrong and promise to ask her next time before you chain her down with some magical necklace."

Draco started to get angry. Blaise really did not see it from his point of view. "I did nothing wrong!" he exclaimed.

"According to her you did," Blaise pointed out. "That is what's important. It does not matter that you think your actions were correct. If you want to talk to her, you have to tell her what she wants to hear."

"Malfoys don't apologize for something they aren't guilty of," Draco said, pushing his plate away.

"You'll never get to speak to her if you keep that up. Bloody hell, I need reinforcements over here." Blaise took out a scrap of parchment and hastily scribbled a note.

"No, I refuse!" Draco said. "Don't drag Potter or Weasley into this!"

"You don't have a choice, Draco. I'm heading over to the Owlery. Broom closet straight after dinner, okay?"

Draco rolled his eyes as Blaise gave a suggestive wink. With a laugh, he grabbed his bag and sped away.

--

Hermione avoided Ginny's gaze for the most part of the meal. The red-head probably figured out that Hermione had not yet apologized to Malfoy. She continued to act thoroughly interested in her pink salmon, not bothering to look up when she was engaged in a conversation by Harry or Ron.

"Hey 'Mione, would you care to ditch your books tonight and hang out at the Gryffindor common room for an hour or two?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Hermione said, finally looking up. "That's a great idea!" She beamed, noticing Ginny nodding her head disapprovingly.

"Don't you have _homework_ to do Hermione?" Ginny asked. She hoped that Hermione picked up that she really meant "apologizing" instead of "homework".

"Gin, don't be such a spoil-sport! You sound almost like Hermione!" Ron joked.

"Yeah, 'Mione. That's a great idea. We haven't hung out in ages! You're always revising in the library or the Heads' common room." Harry joined in.

"No worries Ginny. _Homework_ can wait," Hermione assured. "I'll make sure to get it done before the night is over."

A large brown barn owl swooped into the Great Hall and landed in front of Harry. He stuck his leg out, waiting for the black-haired boy to untie the scrap of parchment. Harry unrolled the parchment and quickly glanced at the letter:

_Broom closet. 5__th__ floor._

_Straight after dinner._

_B_

_PS. Bring refreshments._

Harry frowned. "Change of plans, Ron. We... er... have a tutoring session for... Divination! Isn't that right?"

Ron nodded as Harry passed the piece of parchment along. "Yeah, that's right, Harry. I don't know how we could have forgotten!"

Hermione eyed them curiously for a second but beamed. "I'm glad the two of you are finally taking your studies seriously! It's about time, I say. N.E.W.T.s are just around the corner!" Hermione turned her attention to Ginny. "Would you still like to hang out together, Gin?"

"Sure, Hermione. As long as your homework gets done by the end of the night," Ginny winked. The two girls started laughing at themselves for being so clever with their girl code.

Harry and Ron just looked at each other and shrugged. Girls. They'll never understand them.

Harry noticed Draco leave the Great Hall. He tried to get Ron's attention but he was too busy stuffing his face with cream puffs and éclairs. "Well, look at the time. Ron, mate, we should hurry along. We still need to gather our books from the common room."

"Going so soon?" Hermione pouted. "Oh well, I guess it is for the best. Have fun studying!"

"Sure Hermione," Ron grumbled. "Fat chance."

"What's that Ron? I missed the last thing you said."

"Oh nothing. Nothing at all!" He quickly grabbed another éclair and dashed off after Harry. The pair made their way towards the kitchens, taking the door to the right of the main staircase. They finally stopped in front of the portrait of a fruit bowl.

Ron tickled the pear and the portrait swung open. "Hey Dobby!" he called out, noticing the tiny house elf clad in colorful hats and socks.

"Mr. Potter, sir and his friend!" Dobby squeaked, making his way over to the two Gryffindors. "What can Dobby do for you sir?" His eyes grew wide in excitement of serving the infamous Harry Potter.

"We just want some snacks and four bottles of butterbeer, Dobby. Nothing much," Harry replied. Dobby nodded and quickly went to find the boys some food to eat.

"This is my favorite place in this whole castle," Ron said, while the two waited.

Harry laughed. "I can imagine why."

"Here Mr. Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby exclaimed. He held out a large picnic basket in front of the boys. Ron excitedly took it from the house elf and peered inside.

"Wow, thanks Dobby! This is great!" The basket contained four chilled bottles of butterbeer and an array of desserts like the éclairs and cream puffs that Ron had enjoyed during dinner. There was also a huge slab of cake, chocolate cupcakes with sprinkles, an assortment of sweets from Honeydukes, and pumpkin pie. They both thanked the little house elf profusely before finally saying their goodbyes.

Harry and Ron made their way up to the fifth floor, making sure to keep an eye out for Hermione and Ginny. They finally reached the broom closet near the Prefects' bathroom. Ron knocked on the door and waited.

"Er, is there a password or something?" Ron asked Harry thirty seconds later. Harry shrugged and knocked again.

Blaise finally opened the door and stepped out to let Harry and Ron in.

Harry turned to Blaise. "Do you realize how odd it is for four blokes to cram into a small broom cupboard?"

Ron peered over Harry's shoulder. "How are we supposed to fit in _there_?" He scrunched up his nose.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Magic boys, magic. Follow me. Make sure you close the door behind you, Ron." The Italian boy stepped into the broom cupboard and tapped his wand twice against the back wall. The wall immaterialized into an entryway to a small, candle-lit room.

"I never knew this existed!" Harry exclaimed.

"Zabini family secret," Blaise explained. "I usually use it for romps but I decided that we boys need a place to escape."

Harry and Ron looked around the room. The room contained a green overstuffed couch and a matching loveseat at the far corner. A marble and onyx wizard chess set laid on a mahogany coffee table in front of the seats. Opposite the couch was a blazing fireplace that heated up the room quite nicely. Near the door was a wooden table set with four chairs. The walls were plastered with photographs of what could be assumed to be various Zabini family members.

Ron eyed Draco sitting on the green loveseat. He was hunched over with his face in his hands. "What's wrong with Draco?" he asked, setting the basket down on the table. He started to unpack the basket laying all the sweets on the table.

"Oh, he's just moping because Hermione hasn't talked to him in days." Blaise eyed the desserts and rubbed his palms together. After leaving in the middle of his dinner to send the note to Harry and Ron, Blaise had gotten quite hungry. "You two have outdone yourselves! These look good."

"I don't need your help," Draco called out.

"He needs a little convincing," Blaise continued, taking a chocolate frog from the loot. "He doesn't think that he should apologize to Hermione."

Harry took a seat on the couch. "Oh, this is about that damn necklace again. She was quite upset about that. She even went to Dumbledore first thing in the morning... I don't see what the big fuss was about."

"Finally, there is someone who understands me!" Draco cried, throwing his arms up in the air.

Ron snorted. "You can forget about talking to her in the future then. She's as stubborn as you are! At this rate, she won't speak to you until you're in your grave." He took an éclair and stuffed it in his mouth.

Blaise agreed. "That's what I keep telling you Draco!"

"I think they might be right after all Draco," Harry said, after thinking of it for a moment.

"Stop being so stubborn for once and admit you made a bad lapse in judgment," Blaise stated.

Draco groaned. "You don't get what I'm trying to say. I never made a bad lapse in judgment. I gave Hermione the memory keeper with good intentions. It's for her own good and it is sad that she fails to recognize this."

Harry came up with a new approach. "Why don't you apologize for getting her upset?"

"That's bloody brilliant, Harry!" Ron exclaimed.

Blaise nodded. "It's a compromise, I suppose. Draco doesn't have to apologize for something he's not guilty of and Hermione gets an apology."

"I guess that's fine," Draco muttered, "As long as I don't have to apologize for violating her with that memory keeper."

Blaise clapped Draco in the back. "Come on, mate. Let's play some exploding snap!" The boys cheered and started to play, butterbeers in hand.

--

"Are you going to tell me why you've been avoiding Draco?" Ginny asked. She was sitting Indian-style on the rug in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room. She sat next to Hermione who was on her stomach, flipping through a book.

Hermione hesitated, "I can't get myself to apologize."

Ginny sighed. "Whatever happened to your Gryffindor courage? This is not the Hermione Granger I know. The _real_ Hermione Granger would have done the right thing ages ago."

"I guess you're right. Like I promised, I will do it tonight. The moment I step into the common room, I will apologize."

Ginny grinned. "So... What do you think about Draco's friend Blaise?"

"What about him?" She raised an eyebrow wondering what on earth could possibly running through Ginny's head.

"Other than his amazing body... is he around the Heads' common room a lot?"

Hermione laughed. 'Typical Ginny,' she thought.

An hour later, Hermione and Ginny had talked about boys, the latest witches' fashion, and gossip. Ginny got Hermione to relax and just have some fun for a while and forget about her studies and Heads' duties. While it was not typically how Hermione spent her Wednesday nights, Hermione had a blast talking about typical girl things.

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed. "Look at the time. I better get going..."

"Yeah," Ginny said. "You should. Good luck!"

--

Back at the broom closet, Ron and Draco were finishing up a game of wizards chess. Harry and Blaise watched and cheered.

"Check mate!" Ron yelled. His onyx knight blasted the king and put an end to the game.

"You owe me a rematch next time, Weasley!" Draco said.

Ron laughed. "Anytime. I'd love to beat you twice in a row!"

The boys tidied up the room, putting the left over food in the icebox.

"We should do this more often," Harry said. "I forgot how much fun it is to hang out with two serpents."

"Yeah, reminds me of the past summer," Blaise uttered. "Same time on Saturday?"

"Definitely!" Ron said. "Right after Hogsmeade, yeah?"

The others agreed with the plan and gathered their things to leave. Blaise tapped his wand again at the wall leading to the broom cupboard. He stuck his head out of the door and checked if the corridor is free of Filch and Mrs. Norris.

He stepped out of the broom cupboard followed by Draco, Harry, and Ron. They all said their final goodbyes and parted ways.

Draco walked down the hall towards the portrait of the lion and the snake. After a quick glance at his wristwatch, he saw that it was only a little after ten. Hermione would definitely still be awake. He tapped on the portrait, nudging the serpent awake. He muttered the password and stepped into the common room.

Draco frowned. The common room was dark, being only lit by the fireplace. He thought that it was unusually early for Hermione to retire for the night. She was frequently up until midnight doing homework that was not due for the next two weeks.

He noticed a figure on the couch. He approached and saw that it was Hermione. She had curled up on the couch reading her Charms text and had fallen asleep. Draco smiled fondly and reached over to tuck a stray curl behind her ear. He grabbed a throw blanket from a nearby armchair and draped it across Hermione's sleeping form. He watched her sleep for a couple of minutes. Draco thought that it was a breathtaking sight. She was smiling in her sleep, the memory keeper obviously giving her pleasant dreams. Her hair shined under the firelight, tempting Draco to run his hands through her mass of curls. Her eyelids fluttered and she sighed contently. When Draco decided to call it a night, he bent over and gave her a chaste kiss on her temple. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to make you cry. I'm sorry..." He gave her another kiss, briefly touching his lips to the corner of her mouth. "Good night, my love."

Draco immediately fell asleep that night and had the best sleep in days.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Notes**: Thanks yet again to my biffle killersmile as my "unofficial beta" who claims that I can never replace her as it is said in a prophecy at the Department of Mysteries.

**Disclaimer**: JKR owns all but the plot.

* * *

"Hermione! Are you sure you don't want to go to Hogsmeade today?" Ginny asked. "It's a beautiful day out!" She pointed out the window. It was late May and the sun was brightly shining. Many students were already outside playing on the lawn near the Great Lake or heading towards Hogsmeade. Even the giant squid was basking in the sun, its tentacles sending waves crashing to the shore of the lake.

"No, it's okay," Hermione replied. "You go ahead with the others. I really have to finish this essay for Potions and I need to start revising for History of Magic. I don't think I took enough notes in my last class!"

Ginny laughed. "Okay, Hermione. But don't work yourself too hard, okay? Just promise me you'll meet up with us at Hagrid's for tea."

Hermione nodded. "Of course! I promised Hagrid I'd stop by. Have fun! Make sure that the boys don't spend too much money at Honeydukes!"

Hermione gave Ginny a quick hug before she exited the Gryffindor common room. She waited a couple of minutes before grabbing her school bag and departing. She really hated lying to her friends but it wasn't as if she could really tell them the real reason why she wanted to skip the Hogsmeade trip. Technically, she wasn't really lying. She _was_ working on her Potions essay. She just did not specify _who_ she would be working with.

Fortunately, everyone took advantage of the nice weather, leaving the halls almost empty. She easily made it to the fifth floor without bumping into anyone. She stopped in front of the Prefects' bathroom, finding her friend already waiting for her. She smiled and greeted him.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked curiously. "I really don't understand why we can't just meet up at the library like we usually do."

He smirked. "It's a surprise. Come on. It's not too far from here." He took Hermione's school bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"Thanks," she smiled.

His strides were quite long and Hermione found herself walking at a faster rate than she usually did. They walked in companionable silence which she took the time to examine her friend. He was definitely more than a head taller than she was. He was catching up to Ron's height. While he was slim, he definitely was not lanky. Hermione noticed that he skipped slicking his hair back this morning. His hair had gotten quite long and he had to constantly brush them away from his eyes. Today was one of the rare occasions that he did not dress in his school robes. He was surprisingly wearing Muggle jeans and a pale blue sweater he rolled up to his elbows. After walking a short distance, he finally stopped in front of a broom cupboard.

"A broom cupboard?" she asked narrowing her eyes. "Are you kidding?"

He laughed. "Don't worry. I have no intentions of taking advantage of you. Trust me." He stepped into the cupboard and coaxed Hermione to follow him. He shut the door behind her and proceeded to the back wall of the cramped cupboard. He tapped his wand twice.

Her friend entered the room and immediately sat down on the loveseat. He propped up his feet on the coffee table and sighed in content.

"Are you going to stand there all day gaping or are you going to join me?" he smirked, running a hand through his hair.

Hermione stepped into the room cautiously and took a seat on the couch. "This is nice," she said, taking in her surroundings.

"It's a family secret of a friend of mine," he nodded. "So, what's left of the Potions project?"

"We just have to finalize the final lab report. It shouldn't be much actually. All we have to do is combine what we've done separately and make sure that none of our data contradicts."

He nodded and took out a two foot piece of parchment. The two students started to look at each other's work, pointing out suggestions and asking questions. Hermione flipped open her Potions text for reference. It was all smooth sailing. They each worked meticulously and there were very little corrections made.

After half an hour her friend let out a long tired sigh. Hermione looked up eyebrows furrowed. "Are you okay? Do you want to take a break?"

He looked over at her and shook his head. "Oh, no. I apologize. I didn't mean to interrupt your work. I just have a lot on my mind."

Hermione tilted her head to one side. "Anything you wanted to talk about?" She put her quill down on the coffee table.

He massaged his temples. "I don't think you'd like to hear about it..."

"Try me," she said.

"Okay...," he replied, unsure of whether he should really tell her what was going on in his troubled mind. "Do you ever wonder whether the ideals you were instilled with as a child are wrong?"

Hermione bit her lip. She could tell that it was hard for him to admit that for her. "Honestly, I never have..." Thinking back, Hermione

He sighed once more. "I didn't think you'd understand... Forget it. We can go back to work if you'd like."

"No," she insisted. "What's wrong?"

He eyed her quizzically, like he was surprised that she would actually care that something was bothering him. His expression turned soft on her and he almost laughed, "Is it wrong to think that I don't want to be a Death Eater anymore after all these years?" He ran his hand through his hair and carefully avoided her eyes. He looked like he was in utter disbelief that the words just came out of his mouth. On the other hand, he also looked relaxed like the weight on his shoulders lessened by spilling his secret to her.

Hermione's mouth slightly gaped open from what he had just told her. Was this really the same person she had grown up with for the past six years? She mentally shook her head because she knew that he _wasn't_ the same person. Over the past few weeks, she was able to see that for herself. Something inside him changed. "I don't think so... I mean it must be difficult for you to realize that you would have to go against everything... including your family."

He laughed again. "You bet it's difficult. You don't have the infamous Bellatrix Lestrange as your aunt! I can just imagine how she would hex me like there's no tomorrow if she heard me say those words." He paused momentarily thinking of what to say next. "It's just... I don't know what to do with myself. It sounds impossible to stray from the path that has been chosen for me. It's so easy for me to join the ranks of the Dark Lord but I can't. All that Pureblood business... I realize its all rubbish. I can't fight for something I don't believe in. It's either my family or my beliefs. I'll have nothing if I go against them..."

Hermione was at a loss for words. She knew very well that he hadn't called her the M-word for a while now but she didn't think that he went as far as to thinking that blood did not mean a thing at all. It made her think: Did she do that to him? Did she change his view after the years of prejudice were pounded into him?

She knew it wasn't her place to make a decision as to what he should do now and she had to bite down her own tongue to prevent herself to scream out to him to go to Dumbledore for help. This was something important that he had to do on his own. He had to make up his mind and do what he believes is right. "You'll figure something out," she said not knowing what else to say. She put her hand on his shoulder reassuringly.

"I bloody hope so."

They sat in silence for a while, Hermione taking back her hand to rest on her lap. The only sound in the room came from the breeze that flew in the window and flipped the pages on Hermione's open book.

"Would you like some butterbeer?" he asked, breaking the silence. He stood up from the loveseat and went to the ice box.

"Sure," Hermione replied. She got up and followed him, taking a seat on a chair. He placed the bottle of butterbeer in front of her on the table and sat opposite her.

He took a swig of butterbeer and started to chuckle, lightening the mood in the room.

"What's got you in a fit?" she asked curiosly.

"I can't say I've ever felt so bloody vulnerable until right now," he replied, shaking his head. "I can't believe I actually said those things to you..."

"Do you regret it?" she asked.

"No. Surprisingly, it felt really good to finally get it out in the open." He smiled the first time that day making her smile herself. "I definitely do not regret it. No wonder Potter and Weasley ever stray from your side. You're so easy to talk to, you know? I thought you would judge me or mock me at the least, but you didn't. It surprised me more than I thought it would."

Hermione blushed at the onslaught of his compliments. That was probably the nicest thing he has ever said to her. She shrugged. "You needed a friend. It was the least I can do..."

He nodded and said nothing else in reply. They sat there again in silence sipping their butterbeers. Hermione looked out the window and noticed that the corners of the sky were tinted with pink and the sun was slowly starting to set.

"Merlin, what time is it?" she squealed. She quickly got up from her chair and started to pack her bag.

"It's a little bit after five," he replied. "Do you have to be somewhere?"

Hermione wasn't sure if her eyes were deceiving her. Did he look crestfallen? Surely he did not. "I'm sorry. I really wish I could stay until dinner, but I promised Hagrid I'd stop by for a bit of tea."

"I understand," He replied moving over to her to help her pack her things.

Once her bag was packed, she slung it over her shoulder and checked under the coffee table, making sure that she did not forget anything. "I'll be seeing you at dinner, alright?" she said, before turning and heading for the door.

He grabbed her arm as she was just about to step out into the hallway. "Thanks, Hermione. You are a good friend." He quickly brushed his soft lips across her cheek, briefly touching the corner of her mouth. He smirked once again and walked back into the secret room.

Hermione made her way outside to Hagrid's hut with a smile on her lips.

--

Hermione woke up before, finding herself skimming her fingers over her lips. She was disoriented at first, unsure of where she had fallen asleep. Noticing the orange glow of the smoldering fire, she deducted that she had to be in the common room. She had not remembered draping a burgundy throw over herself and thanked a kind house elf silently for keeping her warm. She yawned stretching her arms out and swung her legs on the side of the couch. She sleepily made her way to the bathroom taking advantage of being awake at such an ungodly hour.

She turned on the shower and made sure that the door leading to Draco's room was locked. She then proceeded to brush her teeth while the water heated up. Hermione finally undressed, sleep starting to fade away. The water was the perfect temperature and Hermione found herself relaxing immediately. She reached out for her favorite vanilla shampoo and started to work lather into her long mass of curls.

She thought about the latest dream and could not stop smile from escaping. The guy in her dreams, whoever he was, was pure perfection. Not only was he witty and intelligent, he was also _sensitive_ – which definitely proved that the guy from her dreams was a figment of her imagination.

But that kiss! Even that chaste kiss could still send shocks all over her body – even if she was _awake_. It felt too real to be a dream.

Hermione almost laughed out loud as she rinsed the suds from her hair. She, Hermione Granger, was obsessing over a _boy_ – an _imaginary_ boy. The thought of it was simply ridiculous and sounded on the verge of unhealthy.

Exactly fifteen minutes later, Hermione was back in the common room trying to finish up the homework she neglected the night before. It was probably still another hour before Draco was finished with his morning routine.

--

It was the middle of the night a week before the final battle. He and Hermione were lying down on the bed in his room at Grimmauld Place chatting aimlessly in the dark.

"What's your most embarrassing moment?" she asked, staring at the dark ceiling.

He laughed quietly, trying not to be too loud to wake anyone else up. "Do you really have to ask? I thought it would be obvious by now... and quite honestly, I'd rather not relive the moment."

She turned her head to face him. "Tell me! Please?" She grabbed his hand and laced her fingers with his. "I promise I won't tell a soul."

He rolled his eyes even if she couldn't see. "I can't believe I'm giving into you."

"But you love me, so you will," she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Yes, I do," he replied. It was two weeks ago that he admitted that he loved her. She had not said the words back to him but he was not worried. Hermione would tell him she loved him when she was ready. "Remember back in fourth year when Moody –"

"Turned you into a ferret?" Hermione finished. She used her other hand that wasn't holding onto Draco's to stifle her giggles. "That was so funny! The Amazing Bouncing Ferret!"

"Haha," Draco mocked. "Calm down, woman. It was not _that_ funny. Do you realize how mentally scarred I was after that? I had _nightmares_."

"Aw, you poor baby!" she exclaimed, kissing his cheek. "Still, you have to admit that it was really funny. Draco Malfoy being turned into a ferret – that is _priceless_."

"So what's _your_ most embarrassing moment?" he asked, changing the subject. "If it was the teeth thing I really do apologize for it. I do realize what a horrible prat I was. I don't know how I failed to realize how amazing you were."

Hermione laughed. "Don't you worry... I practically owe you for that. Thanks to you I have perfectly straight teeth. Besides, it nearly wasn't as bad as that time in second year. I had an accident with Polyjuice." She cringed.

"What do you mean?" he asked turning his head sideways.

"I brewed Polyjuice potion in second year and I accidentally used a hair of a cat," she explained. "Needless to say, it didn't turn out the way I planned. It was disastrous."

"No... you didn't," he said, not quite believing what he'd heard.

"Yes I did. I'm sure I can pull some records from the infirmary if you want proof," she replied. "It was awful. That is one thing I never wanted to go through again - Which explained why I was so meticulous during Potions this year."

"And why you looked like you were about to retch when Snape made you test the Polyjuice during class," he added. "Merlin, the expression on your face..."

"Being Polyjuiced as a cat was probably worse than being _transfigured_. It was the worst experience of my life!"

"But I'm sure you made a cute little kitten," he cooed.

"And you were such a cute little ferret too, you know," she replied smiling.

"Touché, Granger," he answered back chuckling.

They both stared up at the darkness together holding hands. After a few minutes, Draco noticed Hermione's heavy breathing and assumed that she had fallen asleep on his bed. 'I should wake her up,' he thought. 'Molly would probably have a fit if she found us together in the morning.' He smiled at the picture forming in his head. He gripped onto Hermione's hand a little tighter, relishing the feeling of her body next to his. 'Two more minutes,' he told himself, 'And I'll wake her up.'

Draco woke up the next morning with his back cold and his chest uncomfortably warm and sweaty. Someone right next to him shifted. He opened one eye and smiled. Hermione. Her mouth was slightly open and her curls were all over the place. She had one leg entwined with his. Her left arm draped over him to pull him closer and right hand was placed over his heart.

He lied as still as possible, not wanting to wake her up. He brushed aside a stray curl and tucked it behind her ear. He kissed her temple and listened to the bustling of the kitchen down below.

Hermione's eyelids fluttered open a few minutes later and she yawned. She smiled upon realization that she woke up in the arms of Draco. She snuggled closer and put her head over his heart.

"I love you, Draco," she mumbled half-asleep. She looked up at him smiling and gave him a kiss along his jaw line.

His heart skipped a beat. Right then and there, when the words flew out of Hermione's mouth, he knew it. He was going to ask Hermione Granger to marry him.

--

Draco woke up from his dream, unsure of whether he should be happy or extremely frustrated. He picked up the emerald ring from his nightstand and examined it. Remembering his dream, that was probably one of the happiest moments of his life. It was also one of the most pleasant dreams he has had in a very long time. His dreams were often of the night of the Final Battle or when Hermione first woke up in St. Mungo's. They haunted him endlessly and it was a nice change to dream something pleasant.

On the other hand, he felt a heavy pull on his heart that things did not turn out the way he planned. He wanted to ask Hermione to marry him as soon as the War was over. Sure they were too young to get married, but he believed that it was never too early to get engaged. It wasn't as if they'd get married before they even graduated Hogwarts. It would have been a long engagement and they'd get married a couple of years after graduating. He knew that he wanted to be with Hermione for the rest of his life. He knew that better than he knew what he was going to wear the next day or what to eat for breakfast.

He put the ring back on his nightstand and got out of bed. On his way to the bathroom, he grabbed his towel and proceeded to shower. The tiles on the shower floor were slick letting him know that Hermione had risen early and was probably long gone by now. He wondered if she spent the whole night in the common room or if she woke up in the middle of the night and made her way back to her own bed.

Finishing up with his shower and his long list of things to do in the morning, he grabbed his bag and made his way out to the common room. He was just about to reach the portrait hole when Hermione called out to him.

"Malfoy!" she called. She was sitting on the armchair with her Transfiguration text on her lap.

He stepped towards her intending to apologize right then and there. It didn't really count when the girl you want to say sorry to is unconscious. "Listen Granger, I'm –"

"No, Malfoy, you listen," she said. "I apologize for what I said the other night. It was truly uncalled for. I was immature and I completely overreacted. You were absolutely right that we should try to work together instead of against each other. I do hope you accept my apology and we can move forward. As Heads it really is important that we set an example and show that students of different houses can be... friends."

To this day, Hermione Granger never ceased to surprise him. He stared at her for a while in shock, surprised that _she_ was apologizing to him. It seemed absurd.

"I apologize as well, Granger. I shouldn't have charmed the chain that way... I should have asked you if it was okay... I thought that you would like it and..."

"No!" Hermione replied. "I love the necklace. It's gorgeous, really, but like I said, let's put that in the past. Truce?" she asked, sticking her hand out.

"Truce," he echoed, shaking her hand. Draco had to make a conscious effort to ensure that he did not hold on to Hermione's hand for too long. Once he let go, he felt a pang that wished he hadn't. "I'll see you in class," he said. He waved an arm in goodbye.

"Bye... _Draco_," Hermione said, making sure to use his given birth name.

He smiled. "Goodbye, Hermione."


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Notes**: Lore my beta is the best in the world. None of this would be possible without her. :) This has been the longest chapter that I've ever written and I am quite proud of my work. Thank you so much for all the reviews. They really do keep me going. **Important!** (sort of)... I've rewritten the first chapter to those of you who haven't notice. Nothing changed much, but there is an extra scene. It's more well written in my opinion and I like it way better than the original.

**Disclaimer**: Everything but the plot is owned by JK Rowling. What a lucky woman.

* * *

_He grabbed her arm as she was just about to step out into the hallway. "Thanks, Hermione. You are a good friend." He quickly brushed his soft lips across her cheek, briefly touching the corner of her mouth. He smirked once again and walked back into the secret room._

Hermione caught herself as she almost let out a sigh. She felt a blush stain her cheeks as she put her hands in her face and groaned inwardly. 'I cannot believe I just daydreamed in the middle of class,' she thought to herself. She was sitting in the middle of Ancient Runes when her mind suddenly drifted away. It was hard for Hermione to fathom why she lost focus. Professor Babbling was teaching the class about a new set of runes that was quite captivating. Usually, Hermione barely let her attention focus past what the Professor was lecturing as she furiously scribbled notes and eagerly answered any question that came her way.

Hermione could have laughed out loud. In all her years, never had she caught herself daydreaming about a _boy_ - especially an _imaginary_ boy. But, oh – that kiss! While it was chaste, Hermione never felt so electrified after his lips had touched her skin. It was unlike any other. The only other kiss she had received had been in fourth year. It was sloppy and on the verge of slobbery. There was nothing special to it other than the fact that it was her first. Unfortunately, Viktor Krum was not as graceful with his lips as he was with his broom. Viktor was nothing compared to her dream guy.

'Pull it together, Hermione,' she told herself. She gathered her thoughts and tried listening to Professor Babbling. With quill in hand, she paid the utmost attention to her professor. However, Hermione was unable to grasp what he had been talking about. For the first time, Hermione Granger was lost in class. She had no idea what was going on as the professor continued to lecture. She tried writing as he spoke, but she was unable to comprehend what she was even writing down.

When class was dismissed, she let out a huge groan. She looked around her and found Draco still writing last minute notes. He had written almost two feet of notes in his neat, masculine handwriting. Hermione did not have much of a choice. It was either ask Draco for help or make a futile attempt at her homework. Clearly, she was not going to let her daydreams set her back even more in her studies. She quickly collected her things and stuffed it into her bag. She braced herself together and approached the Head Boy.

"Hey, Mal- Draco," she greeted. She did not exactly meet his eyes when she spoke. She still felt slightly uncomfortable around him after she had treated him so poorly over the last couple of days. Instead, she focused her eyes on a spot on the wall right behind his left ear.

"Hello," he replied in acknowledgement. He began to roll up his parchment as he waited for her to continue.

"Mind if I borrow your Runes notes? I did not quite catch a couple of things Professor Babbling said," she questioned. She hoped that he did not ask any questions as to why her own notes were not sufficient enough. She knew that she would not want to discuss her daydreams with Draco.

Draco merely raised an eyebrow. He was interested as to why she would need them but he held his tongue. "Sure. Can I get it back tonight?" he asked, handing her his notes.

Hermione smiled. "Thank you. I'll make sure you get it back." She carefully placed Draco's notes in her bag. She said her goodbyes and proceeded to the library. She was very proud of herself for having a decent conversation with Draco ever since she had apologized that morning. She proved to herself that she can keep her word and act civilly towards him. When she finally arrived at the library, she headed towards her usual seat at the rear. She had an hour of free time to do her homework before she had to be at her next class.

Once seated, she pulled out Draco's notes and a fresh piece of parchment. She untied the roll and took a quick look at them. Hermione could not help but notice how his elegant handwriting slanted to the right and how he had used emerald ink. "Figures," she muttered to herself. As she rapidly scanned the parchment, she thanked herself for mustering up the courage to talk to him. Draco was a great note-taker; they were extremely detailed and organized. Just from reading his notes, she quickly grasped the concepts and understood what she had missed during class.

Hermione pulled out her quill and ink bottle and started to copy Draco's notes when Ron walked up to her.

"Hey, 'Mione," he said, taking a seat opposite her. "I knew I would find you here."

"Hello, Ron," Hermione replied. She was shocked to see Ron here out of all places but was glad to see him nonetheless. He never usually went to the library unless she dragged him in. "What are you doing here?"

"Can't your best mate pop in to say hello?" Ron joked. "Hermione, I'm hurt!" He clutched his chest playfully and pretended to swoon.

Hermione laughed. "No really, Ronald," she said. "What's up?"

"Honestly, I'd rather sit here and do some homework than spend my whole hour watching Luna and Harry snog each other." He shuddered.

"Well, that does not sound like much fun," Hermione said, trying to stifle a giggle. Ron had no problems of Harry and Luna being together, but he drew the line at witnessing any signs of public affection between the two.

"No, not at all," he sighed. "Unless of course you're Harry or Luna!"

Hermione nodded and looked down at her parchment. She picked up her quill once more when Ron asked, "What are you up to?" He was curiously peering at her school work.

"Nothing much. I'm just rewriting some of my notes," she said. She found it very odd that Ron would ask about her schoolwork. He barely paid any attention to his _own_ work and it was weird that he should start asking about hers.

He simply nodded and took out his own books. She and Ron proceeded to do their work in silence for the next twenty minutes. She was reading Draco's notes about a complicated rune, when her mind started to drift once more.

_He grabbed her arm as she was just about to step out into the hallway. "Thanks, Hermione. You are a good friend." He quickly brushed his soft lips across her cheek, briefly touching the corner of her mouth. He smirked once again and walked back into the secret room._

Hermione smiled to herself recalling the dream. She cherished every moment that she spent dreaming about that guy. She loved how one moment he could make her laugh so hard that her sides would hurt and in the next he would be totally serious confessing his deepest secrets. Hermione knew that he could trust him as much as she trusted Harry and Ron. He was witty, charming, and most likely very handsome.

She wished she could put a face to the bloke in her dreams. She could have sworn that in her dreams she memorized every contour of his face, the colour of his eyes, and the exact shade of his hair. It pained her that the moment her eyes fluttered open, the memory of his face vanished from her mind. Sadly, there was nothing Hermione could do about it.

"...Hermione, did you just listen to a word I've said?" Ron asked as he waved his hands in front of her face.

Hermione shook all thoughts of her dream out of her head. "I'm sorry, Ron. I'm just having a tough time concentrating today."

"Where were you just now?" he asked.

Hermione shrugged. "It's nothing. Don't worry about it. What was that you were talking about?"

Ron shifted in his seat. He muttered to himself and took a deep breath. "Er... would you like to take a walk by the lake? We still have at least fifteen minutes before the next class. It's a lovely day out."

Hermione glanced at her work. She still had about a foot of parchment left to copy down but she decided that she would have enough time after dinner before she needed to give Draco's notes back. She had not spent that much time with her friends lately – especially Ron – with her schoolwork and Heads' duties getting in the way. "Okay, Ron. I guess I can use the break." She packed her things and followed Ron out of the library.

Ron was right. It was a lovely day. Summer was giving away to autumn and the air had a slight chill to it. The weather was still lovely to be out and about with a cloak. The sun was shining brightly and not a hint of a cloud was up in the sky. The pair headed down towards the lake for a quick stroll.

They reached the shore of the lake and could make out Harry and Luna on the opposite bank. They were engrossed with each other and did not notice Ron or Hermione. They started towards the huge rock on the shore of the lake.

Hermione was the first to spoke. "What's on your mind, Ron? It sounded important."

"That was a great birthday party on Saturday, 'Mione," he said. "Everyone cannot stop talking about it."

"Thanks, Ron," Hermione replied. "I could not have done it without you, Harry, or Ginny. You guys helped out a lot..."

"What are mates for?" Ron answered back grinning. "But you know... You were really pretty on Saturday night... But I'm not saying that you're not pretty all the time – because I think you are. You were just... exceptionally pretty that night..." He fidgeted with his fingers and refused to meet Hermione's eyes. The tips of his ears were pink.

"Um... thanks Ron," Hermione replied not knowing what else to say. His comment was completely out of the blue which caught her in a shock. Hermione looked down at her hands feeling awkward.

They finally reached the rock after walking in silence. They both sat down on the smooth surface and watched the ebb and flow of the lake. Hermione watched Ron from the corner of her eye. Ever since he had complimented her looks, he refused to even look at Hermione. His face was still flushed and he still appeared to be restless. He was muttering something under his breath which Hermione could not hear. She spotted Harry and Luna once again while Ron was lost in his own world. The couple had finally resurfaced for some air and detangled themselves from one another. After straightening themselves out, they started to head back to the castle towards their direction.

Ron finally mustered up his Gryffindor courage. "Are you planning on going to Hogsmeade on Saturday?" he asked nervously, sneaking a glance at Hermione.

"Yes. It's the first trip of the year. I would not want to miss it," Hermione replied. She was not naive. Hermione knew pretty well what was going to happen next. She suddenly felt her stomach churning.

She held her breath as Ron said, "WouldyouliketobemydateonSaturday?"

"Pardon me?" Hermione asked breathlessly even if she already assumed what he had said.

Ron sighed. He tried to calm his breathing but it wasn't working out too well. "Would you like to – to come with me to Hogsmeade? On a date?"

Hermione turned to look at Ron. He was still refusing to meet her eye. She figured it would probably fray his nerves even more. If it was possible, he turned even redder and grew more restless the longer Hermione did not say anything.

Hermione did not know what to say. When Ron asked her to go for a walk, Hermione never expected Ron to ask her out. It was honestly the last thing on her mind. Ron was her best friend. She knew that she did not like him that way and up until recently Hermione thought that he did not like her that way either. He never treated her in any way more than he would treat a friend. Ron had never displayed any romantic feelings for her in all the years they had known each other.

On the other hand, Ron was a great friend. He was funny, loyal, and caring. Sure, the two of them fought every now and then, but they were always able to make up. He protected her fiercely and always helped her out whenever she needed him.

Wasn't that what she wanted in a bloke? Wasn't she just listing out those same qualities back in the library? What if Ron was the guy in her dreams? She had to admit to herself that Ron did have those same qualities but a nagging feeling inside her still made her hesitant. Something was telling her that going out with Ron was not a good idea. Hermione pushed the thought away. Today, she would take a leap of faith. She decided that she would give this a chance. Maybe life would surprise her...

"Sure, Ron!" Hermione replied. "I'd love to go to Hogsmeade with you." She beamed at her best friend.

"Wow! That's great, Hermione!" Ron said. He was smiling ear to ear. "Well, listen. I promised Dean I'd have a word with him before our next class. I'll see you at dinner!" He quickly kissed her cheek and sped away towards the castle.

Hermione touched her cheek. She smiled at the fond gesture; however she could not help but compare that kiss to the one in her dream. She was slightly disappointed that she did not feel the same rush of emotions. Her heart did not flutter nor did sparks ignite all over her body. She just felt Ron's lips touch her skin and that was all there was to it.

"What was that about, 'Mione?" Harry asked. He and Luna had finally reached the rock where Hermione and Ron had been sitting.

Hermione replied, "Ron's just asked me out to Hogsmeade." She forced a bright smile at Harry.

Harry tried to contain his shock. He too forced a smile. "Good for you, 'Mione."

"How lovely," Luna replied dazedly. "You must have been bitten by a purple two-headed foofer."

Harry and Hermione tried to stifle their laughter and just nodded in agreement with Luna. The three of them slowly made their way back up to the castle then parted ways for their next class.

--

"Why the hell are you smiling like a bloody git?" Harry asked while he and Ron played Wizards' chess in the Gryffindor common room. It was well past dinner and the pair skived off from doing their homework. Wizards' chess was far more interesting and thankfully Hermione was not there to nag them about it.

Harry was still shocked beyond belief after Hermione announced that she would be going out on a date with Ron. Harry had been thinking of various ways to broach the topic ever since that morning but never found an opportunity to. Harry had decided that he would wait to talk to Ron before he mentioned anything to Draco. The Slytherin was already a mess ever since the Final Battle. Not to mention, Harry would hate to see his two friends fight. He had hoped that Ron would confess to him sometime during the day, but it never happened. He had to take the initiative or Ron would make a very big mistake. He was giving Ron a chance before he reached the point of no return.

Ginny was sitting at a desk a couple of feet away when she overheard the conversation. She put down her quill and walked over to Harry and Ron. She put her hands on her hips. "Yeah, Ron. What's up? You're acting really strange today... You've had that grin plastered on your face all throughout dinner. It is rather disturbing."

"Nothing," he said, trying hard to suppress his grin. He'd been ecstatic the whole day ever since Hermione had said yes. He tried his best to hide his excitement but his attempts were futile. His face broke out into a wide goofy grin again.

"It must be about a girl," Ginny replied rather bored. She had no real interest in her older brother's love life - his was as dull as a troll's. "Who'd you bother up the courage to ask this time?"

"No one!" he replied rather defensively. "Why is the lot of you ganging up on me all of a sudden?"

"Are you sure there isn't something you'd like to tell us?" Harry asked, giving Ron an opportune moment to tell them what he had done.

"Hah! It has to be a girl! You do not get defensive over anything." Ginny teased. She suddenly gasped in mock realisation. "No... Is it a guy? Is that why you're trying to hide it?" She ducked as Ron threw one of the chess pieces at her. Ginny and Harry started to laugh hysterically.

"It bloody hell isn't a guy!" he barked back. "I am not swinging that way, thank you very much. I am straight and quite proud!"

"So tell us, Ron!" Ginny giggled. "You always know about my love life… It's only fair if you share yours. Who's the girl?"

"I'd rather not… I want to keep this… private," he replied. His face started to flush slightly and he shifted in his seat.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Why would you want to hide it…? It does not make any sense whatsoever… Unless you've asked Pansy out…," Ginny said but quickly added after Ron gave her a menacing look, "Which I know you didn't. Slytherins aren't your type…"

Ron refused to say anything. He let Ginny ramble on while Harry watched him with a hard look on his face.

"Well, it narrows it down," Ginny continued. "The only worse person you could ever possibly ask out is Hermione, and I, as your sister, know you well enough that you aren't thick enough to attempt that." She gave a pointed look at Ron with her eyebrows raised. "Right, Ron?"

Ron cleared his throat but did not reply.

"Oh, Merlin!" Ginny gasped, for the second time. "He's done it. He's going to be pounded! Harry, he asked Hermione out! Ron, I can't believe it. You bloody are thick!" Ginny desperately wanted to throw something at her brother but could not find anything within her reach.

Harry sighed, "I know, Gin." He turned to Ron, changing his tone. "You better have a bloody good explanation for this."

Ron gaped at Harry. "How did you find out?" He had decided early on that it was best not to share with the rest of his fellow Gryffindors that he was going out on a date that Saturday. He knew that they would not take it too well that he had asked Hermione out. For once, he cursed their bloody Gryffindor self-righteousness.

Harry narrowed his eyes. "You weren't even planning to tell us then?" He shook his head. "I can't believe you Ron!" He was rather furious with the redhead. Harry was already upset after talking to Hermione but the fact that Ron refused to tell him grated on his nerves.

"And you bloody know why I didn't... You're taking Malfoy's side on this!" Ron almost screamed.

"Oi, mates," Seamus called out from the opposite side of the common room. He had free himself from his pretty girlfriend in the sixth year after hearing enough of the ruckus. "Take it somewhere else. You're killing the mood!"

Ginny rolled her eyes and practically dragged the two boys to their dorm room. She shut the door and placed heavy silencing spells around the room. She turned to her brother and said exasperatedly, "How could you Ron?"

"How could _you_ take Malfoy's side? You're my sister and you should be supporting my decisions," he answered back.

"Not when you're making decisions like a moron! Hermione already has a boyfriend," Ginny pointed out.

"A boyfriend who loves her very much and would most likely _Avada_ you as soon as he finds out," Harry added.

"A boyfriend that she does not remember," Ron retorted.

"Harry!" Ginny complained. "Make him see reason."

"Ron, mate," Harry said, running a hand through his hair. "Why are you doing this? Why now?"

"Why not?" Ron asked. "Hermione's a great girl. I never realised what I had been missing out on until bloody Malfoy took her away. This is my second chance."

"You never even liked her that way," Ginny said. "After all these years, it does not make any sense at all Ron... you had your opportunities to ask her out. Your biggest chance was at the Yule Ball in fourth year. You never took it. This is just so wrong."

"I knew you two would not understand," Ron spat, shaking his head. "It is _Malfoy_ we are talking about here. Don't you remember what he has been like after all these years? He made school a living hell. He is a spoiled, arrogant prat who gets everything he wants."

"Is _that_ was this is about? The fact that Draco gets _everything _he wants?" Harry asked trying to stay calm. "You should also know more than most people that Draco barely got anything he wanted. He wanted _love_ Ron. For once, he found somebody who actually loved him in return. Do I need to remind you how quickly that was taken away from him? There is nothing to be jealous about. You have had everything he wanted since the day you were born. On the other hand, Draco lost the love of his life. While most people say that the chances of Hermione's memory recovering are slim, I have faith. He is going to get her back."

He stood angry in the middle of their dorm with his arms across his chest. "You can't stop me. She already agreed. I'm taking her out on Saturday."

"Ron, how could you?" Ginny asked. "Draco's your friend. Do we need to remind you? He isn't the same person you met all those years ago. He's changed and I thought you understood that. Are you going to ignore everything that has happened this past summer?" She was practically in tears of frustration. Ron was just so thick. She did not understand why he could let a person go through any more pain than they have already suffered. Draco did not deserve that. "You are being incredibly selfish, Ron. I am ashamed to be your sister right now." Ginny fled the room, slamming the door behind her.

Harry started to pace about the room. He thought out his words carefully, not wanting to say anything that he would later regret. "So when we were hanging out with Draco and Blaise yesterday, everything you said was a flat out lie?" Harry looked at Ron. The redhead was staring at a speck of dirt on the floor. He did not say anything. "I cannot believe that you can go behind Draco's back and do this to him. It makes me wonder if you'd do the same to me..."

"Har-" Ron interjected wanting to argue how Harry and Draco were two opposite people. He would never do that to Harry. Harry had never done any wrong-doing against him.

"Don't you Harry me, Ron," he said. "I don't want to hear anymore of how evil Draco is. In the end, you still betrayed your own mate. Honestly, I am having a hard time wanting to be your friend right now. You are on your own Ron," Harry said defeated. "If you plan on going through with this, you better find a way to stand up against Draco. He's going to kill you. Sadly, I cannot blame him."

Harry proceeded out the door. He took one last look at Ron then slammed it shut. Everything was turning out into a bloody mess.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: JKR owns the characters. I only own the plot.

Author's Note: Thank you to my new beta Mystical Spirits and my biffles, who tell me my writing is good enough for other eyes. Here's a quick dream sequence. Enjoy. :)

_An owl swooped in through an open window and landed on Hermione's bed_. Lavender eyed the owl curiously as she continued to brush her hair with broad, even strokes. "Who's that from, Hermione?" she asked. She felt the need to know everything that was going on around her. Most people called her a gossip, but she couldn't help it if she was just naturally curious.

Hermione crawled over to the other side of the bed, immediately recognizing the owl. She wondered why he would be contacting her so late at night. "I'm not sure. Maybe it's just one of the younger students asking a question. I am a Prefect and all," she said, attempting to lie.

"Oh, is that so?" Lavender asked. She lost interest quickly. There was nothing worth gossiping about when it came to some first year writing to Hermione, and it wasn't nearly as juicy as Hermione getting notes late at night from a mysterious boy. The notion was very unlikely but Lavender could dream all she wanted. She turned her back towards Hermione and continued to brush her hair in front of the enchanted mirror. She had two hundred more strokes before she could go to bed.

When the rest of Hermione's roommates were not looking, she unrolled the small piece of parchment. The grey owl hooted as if to say he was not leaving without a reply. The note was short and straight to the point:

"In the cupboard at half-past midnight. Don't even bother telling me it's against the rules to be out past curfew. I know you've done it before."

She rolled her eyes at his cheek and took out a quill from her bedside drawer. She scribbled a quick affirmative on the back of his note and sent his owl away. She knew that she really should not go out that night, since with the end of the term steadily approaching, Hermione had been exhausted lately, doing nothing but occupying her time by studying. She had to cherish every hour of sleep that she got.

On the other hand, there had to be an important reason as to why her friend would summon her out at night. He had never done so before, and Hermione figured this was something that could not wait until morning. She needed to be there for him. That was what friends did for each other. She would have laughed at the notion of the two of them becoming close friends if the thought ever crossed her mind a few months ago. She had to admit, she was glad she got past their prejudices. He was an amazing bloke and she would truly have missed out if she never took the chance to get to know him.

Hermione got out of her bed to retrieve a book from her book bag. There was no way she could sleep now. He was meeting her in about two hours and there was no point in sleeping; she would just wake up grumpy and not much of a help. For the mean time, she could do more studying to occupy her time.

Thank Merlin Hermione's roommates never stayed up too late. Lavender and Parvati always fussed about getting their "beauty sleep" and were usually in bed way before Hermione. By the time it was a quarter-past, Hermione quietly threw on her school robes over her pajamas and left her room unnoticed. She found the common room almost empty, save for a studious fifth year who fell asleep while doing homework. Hermione almost chuckled out loud as she slipped out past the portrait door – the little fifth year reminded her very much of herself.

Once out in the dark corridor, she desperately wanted to cast a quick _lumos,_ but she knew it would just heighten the risk of getting caught past curfew. Filch still made rounds at this hour and Hermione did not want to get caught. She had never been out this late by herself. Usually, it was always Harry and Ron who dragged her out at night under the invisibility cloak, but this time she had neither her friends nor a cloak to protect her from getting caught. Her hand gripped tighter around her wand every step she took. When she finally reached the familiar cupboard, she breathed a sigh of relief. Opening the door, she quietly stepped inside.

Her friend was already there waiting for her when she stepped into the tiny room. He was lying on the couch with his hands behind his head, looking pleased to see her walk through the door. "I assume you managed to get here without trouble?"

Hermione nodded. "I'm never doing that again. I have never been so paranoid in my whole life!"

He laughed and beckoned her to take a seat. "Scared of the dark, Granger? Where's that Gryffindor courage when you need it?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and walked over to him. "I never said I was _frightened,_ just paranoid. I would rather not get detention, thank you very much." She moved his sock-covered feet from one end of the couch and sat down in their place.

"Hey, what'd you do that for? My feet were very comfortable," he complained. "Go sit on the other couch, woman!"

"But this one is much more comfortable!" she stuck out her tongue. "I would rather not."

He put his feet on her lap. "Ah, much better. Mind giving me a foot rub?" She shot him a menacing glare, making him chuckle. "I was kidding!"

"You better be! I did _not_ come here to be your personal house elf, you know."

He thought of the perfect retort but held his tongue. As much as he found amusement in riling up Hermione, now was not the time. They had better things to discuss than house elf liberation.

Hermione stifled a yawn. "Are you going to sit here all night or are you going to tell me why you've made me get out of bed? I could be sleeping right now, you know."

He smiled. "I know. We just haven't had a chat for a while, that's all." It was not entirely true. They saw each other everyday and often exchanged a few words – a random mumbled "how d'you do?" or a quick "hello" when they passed each other in the halls. He knew she was smart enough to understand it was not what he meant at all. Ever since they turned in their final potions project the week before, they both no longer had excuses to meet up at the library. He had missed their endless conversations and arguments. He missed her and her bushy hair.

He took all that free time he didn't spend with her to replay those conversations back in his head. He thought about every argument and every debate. They had great conversations about their lives and past memories, but the ones that stuck out the most in his head were the ones that made him think. When they were first forced to work with each other, he could not even count the number of times they debated about everything he grew up believing in: blood, superiority, Dumbledore, and, her favorite topic, house elves. For once, he questioned his beliefs. Could his father be wrong after all these years?

For the hours he was lost in thought, he remembered the girl who fought against him. Despite all their bickering, she was more of a friend than anyone had ever been in his life. She was against all his prejudices, yet somehow she managed to befriend him. She always seemed to find a way to make him laugh, and he enjoyed her company immensely. She listened to him because she wanted to and not because she wanted to be on his good side. She was not his friend because of his status or his wealth. As far as he knew, Hermione was friends with him because she found she liked who he was. She was unlike anyone he had ever met. She was stubborn, passionate, out-spoken, intelligent, and beautiful. Yes, he finally admitted it to himself. Hermione was very beautiful.

Then unwanted thoughts started to creep into his mind. Would it ever be possible to be more than friends? He hated to give himself false hope. It would never happen. There was Potter and Weasley, not to mention the countless number of other blokes who would make her happier than he ever would. Besides, weren't their beliefs set apart like two opposite sides of the ocean?

The question rang in his mind and he realized that maybe his beliefs were not as similar as they once were. More than ever, he was becoming confident that his father was wrong. Hermione defied everything that he knew. His father had told him countless tales as a boy of how vile, stupid, and ugly Mudbloods were. However, he was not the same six-year-old who used to picture them as fanged creatures somehow able to do magic. He came to the conclusion that blood meant nothing. After finally voicing out his opinion to Hermione during the previous week, it sounded less ridiculous as he said it out loud.

He made up his mind. He was not going to end up as a Death Eater like his father. His fate was in his own hands and no one else's.

"So, how have you been?" she asked.

He smiled. It was always like her to care about his well-being. "Busy. My head has been pounding incessantly from all the constant thinking and studying."

"That is exactly how I feel!" she agreed. "The Professors just never quit giving out work."

He nodded. "But I, on the other hand, cannot say I enjoy doing all the work that has been assigned."

"I can't help it if I like to work hard," Hermione said. "Besides, I need to maintain my grades or you or that Ravenclaw will overtake me in the class ranking."

"We're at least ten points behind. How is that even possible?" He shook his head. "You are nutters, Hermione. Absolutely nutters."

"You never know! I always prepare myself for the worst case scenario." She yawned and leaned her head back on the sofa. She closed her eyes for a moment, wanting to give them a rest. She was not going to fall asleep, she told herself as she slowly drifted away.

After two minutes, he noticed how her breathing had evened out. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He let her sleep for a while, for he needed to gather his thoughts. He had asked her to come tonight for an important reason. Ever since that afternoon, he had been dying to talk to her. He need to let her know. On the other hand, he was terrified of telling her. What if she didn't react the way he planned?

"Granger," he said quietly. Hermione did not budge. He reached over and nudged her arm. Her eyes slowly opened. "Wake up. We need to talk."

"Hm?" she asked sleepily.

"You were right," he said.

"I'm always right, you know," she said, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She really hadn't meant to fall asleep, but she couldn't help it. She was very comfortable on the couch and just so tired.

He laughed softly. "You don't even know what I'm talking about."

"Yes, but like I said, I'm always right," she replied in a matter-of-a-fact tone. "What am I right about now?"

"The war," he said nonchalantly.

Her nose wrinkled. "What about it?" she asked.

"I was on the wrong side," he simply said. He did not explain any more and left her to her thoughts to let it sink in.

"You used past tense," she pointed out, staring at the wall in front of her. She was avoiding his gaze and he could not tell why.

"Well, yes, Granger," he said. "That _is_ what people usually do when they refer to things that happened in the past."

"I am aware of that, you dolt!" she exclaimed and swatted his leg. She finally turned to face him. "You aren't pulling my leg now are you? This is not a joking matter."

"Oh, Granger!" he mocked. "You wound me so. Would I ever do that to you?"

"Let me think about that for a second..." she started. "Oh, wait a second, you already have!"

"Well, I _am_ very cunning," he stated in agreement.

"That wasn't a compliment, you know," she said, shaking her head. "Can't you take things seriously for once?"

"I was being serious. You were the one that doubted me in the first place. I wasn't joking, if you truly must know. I even talked to Dumbledore this afternoon. It was almost dreadful being in his office all alone with him while he questioned me. Thank Merlin I survived, even just barely."

"You are such a drama queen, you know." She changed her tone of voice after she quit teasing him. "But why would you do such a thing?"

He groaned. Wasn't it already bad enough to have told Dumbledore the reasons why he was switching sides in the war? He never really expected to have an interrogation with Hermione as well, but he shouldn't have been so surprised. Curiosity was her nature. He wasn't ready to tell her he could possibly have feelings that extended beyond their platonic relationship. He did not want to say anything until he knew how she felt towards him. He did not want to set himself up for rejection.

"I thought we discussed this last week, Hermione," he said softly. "Everything about Pureblood supremacy – it's all rubbish, right?" He sat up and crossed his legs Indian-style to face her.

She shook her head. "I already know about that. I get it, you've changed. You're no longer a swot-nosed brat I couldn't help but hate. But what about your parents? You'll have nothing to return to after the war."

"Oh," he said, suddenly smiling. He shook his head, in disbelief that out of all the things she was worried about it was his future. "I'll always have you, won't I?"

Hermione broke out in a smile. "Yeah, you'll always have me. I will always be your friend."

He tried not to make his smile falter after hearing her say that word. He wished for so much more, but a voice inside him kept muttering that it was never going to happen.

"What's wrong?" she asked, eyebrows knitted in confusion. "Are you alright? Was it something I said?"

He realized he was frowning. He tried to force a smile. "Nothing's wrong."

"Men," she muttered under her breath. She really didn't get what was so difficult about telling someone else what the matter was. It was awfully unhealthy of men to just keep everything locked up inside just so they would not be accused of being _soft_. There was nothing wrong with that.

"Pardon?" he asked, after having heard her.

"Is it that hard for you to admit what's wrong? You don't want me to call you my friend, is that it?" she asked.

He thought about it for a moment. "Yes, that is exactly my point. I don't want to be your friend."

Hermione's mouth formed a perfect 'O'. "How can you say that? Do you really feel that way D-"

He interrupted her mid-sentence to stop all those foolish notions going around in her brain. He quickly leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

He panicked for a couple of seconds. She was just sitting there, eyes wide open with her lips attached to his. A million thoughts raced through his mind. Had he made a huge mistake? Did she not want this the way he desperately hoped she did? His heart started to beat wildly in his chest and he stiffened. Merlin, what had he done? Why was she just sitting there?

His thoughts were suddenly answered as her eyes fluttered shut. She smiled and responded into the kiss enthusiastically. He reached up to cup her face in his hands and proceeded to close his own eyes. He grinned against her as reality hit him. He was kissing Hermione Granger and it was better than he could have ever imagined. Much to his surprise, it was Hermione who decided to deepen the kiss. She nibbled on his lower lip asking for permission. He complied willingly and felt her cool tongue slide into his mouth. He felt her arms wrap around her neck as she continued to kiss him.

He hesitantly pulled away from Hermione after snogging for a good ten minutes. He grinned toothily at the sight of her flushed cheeks and swollen red lips. He cupped her face once more. "I want to be more than your friend, Granger. Understand?"

She nodded while looking down at her lap, suddenly embarrassed to look him in the eye. Although she did not regret one moment of it, she was shocked of what she had just done. Her friend kissed her – and she bloody well kissed back, and quite exuberantly too. She was astonished at how brazen she could get with him. She never thought she would be the one initiating anything. She continued to blush prettily at the thought of her actions.

Though embarrassed, Hermione was quite happy. Her friend was only the second boy to give her such attention. She had never expected him to feel that way about her; he was too attractive for his own good, and she never thought he would be interested in someone so plain-looking like her. Hermione found she liked kissing him and could see the two of them extending their relationship beyond friendship. Sure, he was an arrogant prat when he wanted to be, but on the other hand, he could be really funny and sweet when she least expected him to be. She smiled cutely and reached over to peck him on the lips. Wrapping her arms around his waist, she enveloped him into a hug.

He kissed the top of her forehead. "Merlin, Granger," he said quietly. "You really are worth all this trouble." He grabbed her hand and put another kiss on her knuckles, helping her up and walking her safely back to her tower.


	15. Chapter 15

Author's Notes: Thank you to Shampoo and Sunny. I really do thank you too much but I find it necessary because you two are my main driving force for writing. I obviously talk about fics too much in RL and this makes up for it. Thank you to Kristen as well for being an awesome beta.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the plot. :(

* * *

Hermione was jolted out of her thoughts as someone started to bang on the bathroom door. She was lying in the tub, in the middle of creating a list. To her dismay, her thoughts were muddled with daydreams since the start of the term, distracting her from her schoolwork. With all the time she had devoted to researching the memory keeper and looking up plausible explanations of her confusing dreams, Hermione was barely caught up with her homework, a surprise in itself, as she was usually two weeks ahead in all her classes. She was severely behind with her academic calendar, and there was little hope of being back on track.

She reluctantly stepped out of the water, which she had charmed to stay warm for the duration of her bath. Hermione tied her soft bathrobe around her and wrapped a towel around her damp hair. Just as she was about to step into her room, she fished her wand out of her pocket and unlocked the door to Draco's room with a flick of her wrist.

"Sorry, did I take too long?" Hermione apologised to Draco.

He shook his head. "Just making sure the Head Girl didn't drown in her bath."

"See you in class?"

"Sure."

Though Hermione had a truce with Draco Malfoy, it did not mean she was going to abandon her theories about the memory keeper. She had lost all hope of ever finding that text, but she was certain she could still figure out the mystery behind the necklace. Last night's dream had added fuel to the fire, and Hermione was even more determined to figure out who her mystery man was.

Hermione went for the most obvious route: the necklace was named "memory keeper". Surely that had to do with its magical properties. The necklace should contain memories from her past. Apparently not, Hermione thought, because as far as she was concerned, she had never snogged a boy in a secret room tucked away in a broom closet. She was stumped but could not give up. She could not leave the puzzle behind, not when it practically begged her to be solved.

During her bath, Hermione thought maybe the necklace did not keep memories from the past, but the future. She cringed at the thought at first. The thought resembled too much divination. A fortune-telling necklace? Draco might as well have given her a crystal ball, for crying out loud. But on the other hand, it was the only explanation that made an ounce of sense. After accepting her current theory, Hermione made up a list of boys this would ever happen with. Her dreams would have to occur sometime this year, as it was set in Hogwarts.

She paid the utmost attention to any boy that gave her a second's worth of attention. Hermione felt vain and ridiculous doing so but she told herself it was only for "research purposes". Her actions reminded her of Pansy Parkinson or even Lavender Brown who were always enraptured whenever they had caught a boy's attention.

"Hermione, why the hell are you looking me like that?" Harry asked oddly.

Hermione blinked. "Oh, I'm sorry Harry!" She blushed profusely. There really was no harm to make sure the guy in her dreams was not Harry. She was certain it was not Ron, and now she was positive it was not Harry either. It was never likely to be her raven-haired friend anyways. He was practically attached to Luna by the mouth.

Hermione was too busy thinking about who to strike out next from her list to notice the tension between the rest of her friends. Harry and Ron had not spoken a word to each other. Harry was still upset that Ron would betray Draco. If it was so easy for Ron to betray one friend, how easy would it be to betray him? Furthermore, Harry was angry Ron did not see how this could hurt Hermione. Did Ron fall victim to a memory charm as well? It was pretty hard to forget how deeply in love Hermione was with Draco. Thus, Harry continued to ignore Ron.

On the other hand, Ginny could not ignore her brother. She continued to glare at him from across the breakfast table. She insulted him whenever he said something remotely stupid as he conversed with other boys from their house. She kicked his shin whenever he was in close proximity. Ginny was acting rather juvenile, but driving her older brother insane was like an art in the Weasley family.

Ginny hated that she could not even tell Hermione to cancel the date with Ron. It would be a terrible idea for many reasons. Firstly, it would arouse suspicion. Hermione would not cancel the date without a logical reason from Ginny. After Ginny's close call at the beginning of the year, Draco would kill her if she tried anything again. Secondly, Hermione was one of the most stubborn people Ginny ever met. Hermione had already set her mind on going out with Ron, and there was nothing Ginny could do to convince her otherwise. So Ginny continued to lash out her frustrations on Ron, who greatly deserved it.

By the end of breakfast, it was clear Hermione's tactics were not working. No boy seemed to be paying any more attention to her than usual. They acted the same towards her as they all had almost seven years ago. She frowned and racked her brain on the way to her next class. She'd figure it out sooner or later. She always did.

----

Ever since owls had arrived that morning, Blaise was acting peculiar, and it was bothering Draco to no end.

"What's wrong with you?" Draco hissed during lunch.

Blaise turned to Draco giving him a look. Correction: Blaise was giving him the look - the exact same look that drove Draco crazy the whole day. Blaise was looking at him like he wanted to say something that was on the tip of his tongue, but was afraid of what was to happen afterwards. The look was mixed with a bit of pity, which was the final straw for Draco. He loathed being pitied by others.

"Just say it already, you bloody prat!" Draco burst out. A couple of Slytherins turned to look at him. He glared at them, and they all quickly returned to their lunches.

Blaise blanched. "I feel like a Hufflepuff for keeping this bottled up inside."

Draco tried to maintain his patience. Blaise was wearing it thin by the second. "Go on."

"I promised I wouldn't tell..." he started. Draco glared at him. "But my ego's a bit deflated for making myself feel like a bloody Hufflepuff. Somehow I developed a conscience."

"Zabini..." Draco warned.

"Ron asked Hermione out and she agreed," Blaise said a little too cheerily. "Wow. That felt good to get it out. I guess it's very Slytherin to spill a secret that will get someone's face smashed in."

Draco narrowed his eyes. "You better be telling the truth, Zabini, or I will do some head-bashing."

Blaise sighed. "Maybe Ron has a decent explanation for all this."

Draco narrowed his eyes as he scanned the Gryffindor table for the redhead. This was something he expected from his _old_ friends - the backstabbing Slytherins who did nothing for anyone but themselves. They thrived in another's misery. Despite all the years Draco had hated Ron, he convinced himself to push that animosity aside and give the redhead a chance. Draco got that second chance with Hermione. If one Gryffindor wasn't so bad, maybe Ron wasn't that bad as he thought he was. He went out of his way to befriend the git.

"Not a chance in hell," Draco muttered. He slowly pushed himself up from the table and sauntered over to the Gryffindor table. Draco tried to stay calm, forcing himself to clench his fists before he allowed himself to lose control. He caught Potter's eye and walked over towards him first. "Did you know about this?"

Harry frowned. "No. I found out last night." Harry looked over his shoulder to find Ron completely oblivious. The redhead was eating his lunch heartily with no care in the world.

Draco started towards Ron but Harry grabbed his arm. "Let go of me, Potter, or you'll sport a black eye yourself."

Harry gripped Draco's arm tighter. "Not now," he said nudging his head towards the entrance of the Great Hall. "Not in front of Hermione."

Draco whipped his head towards the entrance of the Great Hall. Hermione was probably on her way back from the library. She was carrying books against her chest and chewing on her bottom lip as if she was deep in thought. "Fine," Draco grunted. "I'll see to this after classes."

Draco tried his hardest to pay attention in his classes for the rest of the day. He tried taking notes to keep focus, but no matter what he did, his thoughts wandered off. His mind conjured images that fuelled his anger: Ron on a date with Hermione, taking her out to Madam Puddifoot's or wherever couples went out these days. Ron holding Hermione's hand. Ron telling his awful jokes to Hermione but somehow making her laugh. Ron eliciting that certain sparkle in Hermione's eyes and the warm smile that had always been reserved for _him_. He nearly tore his hair out and hexed the desk to ashes.

He was not being selfish or possessive, Draco told himself. This was not like Ron had stolen his favourite broomstick - Hermione was not a possession. The emotion that bubbled up inside of Draco had been pure betrayal and anger. Draco did not expect something of this sort from a Gryffindor. He thought he and Ron had put their pasts aside. He could even recall Ron _approving_ of their relationship though it was never asked of him. Just like that, the friendship that took so much to build was disintegrated in another second without any second hope. The betrayal caused Draco to be even angrier.

It was an established fact that Hermione Granger was Draco's girlfriend. There was no question to it, and Ron knew that. Ron knew what the two of them had been through. He was there at Grimmauld Place that summer, and he was definitely not oblivious to their relationship. He knew just how much Draco loved Hermione and vice versa. Draco thought he made it obvious that despite Hermione's memory loss, he would continue to love her.

Ron was lucky he did not take the same courses as Draco. Draco knew he would not be able to contain himself if he had to sit through a whole afternoon's worth of class staring at the traitor's flaming red hair. It would mock him endlessly, and he would have ended up punching the shit out of the Weasel in the middle of class. It was not exactly Head Boy material, and Draco _hated_ detention with Filch.

Once classes ended, Draco did not even have to hunt down Ron. Draco was making his way back to the dungeons to drop off his things when he spotted Ron and Neville coming from the other direction.

"Weasley!" he called out. He watched from afar as Ron's face started to turn as white as a sheet. With freckles and all, it was not an attractive look for him. Draco would have smirked to himself if he wasn't so bloody angry. Ron's walking was almost stopped to a halt as if he was thinking about bolting in the other direction before Draco got any closer. "Weasley!" Draco called out again, the anger evident in his voice.

Draco walked right up to him until they were standing toe to toe. "What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?"

"Er...I'm walking back to my dorm."

Draco grunted. "That's not funny, Weasel. Stay away from Hermione."

"No."

Draco's fist connected with Ron's jaw with a sickening crunch. "Bugger!" Ron yelled as he stumbled back.

The Slytherin wasn't done. He took another step towards the Gryffindor. As soon as Ron recovered, Draco sent a blow to his gut. Ron doubled over, clutching his stomach. He looked back up at Draco, anger radiating from his eyes. He lunged himself at the other boy, getting a sloppy hit on the side of Draco's head. His fist was probably throbbing as much as Draco's thick skull but the testosterone pushed him forward with the battle, allowing him to get another few hits.

Draco never expected Ron to fully launch himself at him. It took him a couple of seconds to get a bearing on what the fuck was going on. He quickly recovered and peeled the other boy off him. Draco swung his arm once more, getting Ron in the eye. He found he was able to dodge most of Weasley's hits, thanks to his seeker reflexes. It wasn't too long until Draco had tackled Ron to the ground and pinned him down with his legs. The pain of betrayal racked his body and he felt a little bit better each time his fist connected with the other boy's flesh.

Neville wrinkled his forehead and shifted his weight between either foot. He wasn't sure what to do. He had been standing idly watching the fight, debating on what action to take. Ron did not stand a chance against Malfoy. He was Neville's friend, but after hearing of what he did to Draco, he felt Ron was a bit deserving. Neville was still not very close friends with the Slytherin, as Harry and Ron had been, but he did not think that the blonde was deserving of such terrible betrayal. He finally grumbled to himself after being convinced the other boy had learned his lesson, and sped off to find Harry and Blaise.

"Draco!" Harry yelled as the blonde landed another punch into Ron's gut. He ran towards Ron and Draco with Blaise and Neville trailing behind him. "Malfoy! That's enough!" Harry reached out to grab Draco's arm mid-swing but the Slytherin easily wrenched his arm away. Ron grunted as he received another blow.

It took both Blaise and Harry to restrain Draco from injuring Ron any further. They grabbed him by the arms and yanked him off the other boy. The redhead lay curled up on the hard stone floor in the fetal position. His face was no longer recognizable, as blood was smeared across his cheeks and both his eyes were swelled up. He was clutching his stomach and groaning in pain. Draco did not feel it was enough, however, and attempted to take one last shot at the traitor.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Harry said, his grip tightening around his arm. "Where do you think you're going? That's enough, Draco. I think he gets your point."

Neville hesitated but eventually offered his hand to Ron. "Come on, Ron. I'll take you to Madam Pomfrey." Ron took the offer and slowly got to his feet with Neville's aid.

Blaise sighed and shook his head. Though he was not as bad as Ron, Draco also looked like a fright. "Let's go, mate. I'll help you with those cuts."

Draco shook his head, lightly fingering his bruised and bloody knuckles. "I'll take care of it myself."

"No," Blaise said insisting. "I'll help you out."

"I'm fine, Zabini. I just need to be alone right now." He shrugged off Blaise's hand on his arm and made his way towards the Heads common room to nurse his injuries.

----

Hermione thought she was _so_ close to figuring out her mystery bloke. She narrowed her findings down to the other three Houses. She figured no one in her House seemed to match up. After her classes had concluded, Hermione went to the library to outline her dreams out on parchment. Based on her dreams, she made up a list of characteristics in which she would use to find the boy in her dreams.

It was nearly dinner time when Hermione decided to pack it up for the day. While she put her books away and stored her quills and ink bottles in their rightful places, she mentally went through the list she had compiled that afternoon.

_Mystery Bloke is not:  
1. Any of my friends. Reason: I distinctly remember having a fierce loathing for the boy when the dreams started occurring.  
2. Originally from the Light Side. Reason: He had to overcome his initial prejudice. He also realised the side he truly belonged in during one of our lengthy conversations.  
3. In any of the younger years. Reason: He took the same classes as I did - the reason why we ended up becoming friends in the first place_.

Hermione had not been able to complete her list, but she surmised it was a good start. With all the characteristics laid out for her, it should be easy to track this bloke down - if he really did exist. However, when Hermione thought about it, there was still a long list of boys of who it could possibly be. There were a ton of boys from the other Houses, some of which Hermione only knew by sight. Also, just because the boy was never originally a fellow member of Dumbledore's Army did not immediately mean he was a Death Eater-wannabe. He could have been a neutral person that just so happened to be swaying on one side more than the other. Like her reasoning for the House situation, though the age constraint narrowed her choice, there were still a handful of possibilities.

As Hermione walked back to her dorm, she had a nagging feeling in her brain, like she was missing a very important detail about this boy that could solve the mystery. 'Was it his friends?' she thought to herself. She had a feeling he had given her a name of some sort that would immediately identify him. The name was at the tip of her tongue waiting to jump right out of her mouth. 'Ugh,' she thought, groaning internally. 'What the hell was it? Did it start with a D? No, more like a B, I reckon. B-B-B—'

Hermione rounded the corner just as Ron, supported by Neville, was limping by. His face was caked with blood and if it weren't for the telltale hair and freckles, he would have been unrecognisable. Hermione gasped out loud and ran to his side, thoughts about her mystery bloke pushed away for the moment.

---

She was pissed at him _again_. He was really sick of getting in trouble with her. Draco only ever did things for her sake these days. He never would have gotten into the fight if it wasn't for Ron. But of course she couldn't know that. He gritted his teeth, waiting for the eye of the storm to pass. Hermione looked devastatingly dangerous, and he hoped he would be able to escape the scene with all his limbs attached. She stormed into the common room, her eyes ablaze and her tiny hands curled into fists.

"Who do you think you are?" she spat, narrowing her eyes.

Draco thought it was a rhetorical question and did not even bother to answer.

"What the _fuck _was that about?" Hermione screamed gesticulating wildly. "What gives you the right to hurt my friends? What has Ron ever done to you?"

Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes. 'More than you could ever know,' he thought sourly.

She walked right up to him and started poking him against his chest. "Answer me, Malfoy!"

"No," he replied stubbornly. He couldn't tell her. He wouldn't risk that. It would bring up too many questions knowing the inquisitive nature of Hermione Granger.

"You can't go around beating people up just because you feel like it - especially my friends. You're lucky he doesn't need to stay in the hospital wing overnight!"

'I wish,' Draco snorted internally. "I had my reasons," he said in a clipped voice.

"What the hell is your problem?" she screeched. "You cannot have any reason to beat the bloody pulp out of my _best friend_."

Draco was just about ready to pull his hair out. He still had a pounding headache since Ron had taken a hit on the side of his head. His bruised lip throbbed, and he was sure that he had a bruised rib. He should really have taken up on Blaise's offer. Apparently, Draco was shite at healing charms. "You can't go out on a date with a bastard."

"What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?" Hermione asked wildly.

"You're not going out with him. I forbid it," he finally blurted.

_Whack_. Hermione's hand came out of nowhere and made clean contact with his left cheek. Draco brought his hand up gingerly against the red, heated flesh. He should have seen that coming.

"Who do you think you are, Malfoy?" she screeched. "You can't tell me what to do. I can go out with whoever I want." She looked at him with contempt and distaste.

"No," he said a little more sternly. He braced himself for another hit and relaxed slightly when her arms stayed at her sides. "You're not going out with an arsehole."

"You can't tell me what to do, Malfoy."

"_Yes I can_!" he yelled. "Get it in that fucking thick skull of yours Granger. I'm not letting you go out with the prick."

"Why not?!"

"Because—" he said faltering a bit. 'You're _mine_,' he wanted to say. He shook his head as he racked his brain for another plausible explanation. He hesitated at first but managed to convincingly say, "Because Weasley is a _Pureblood_. Even if he's a fucking blood traitor, it doesn't mean he has to sully himself even more."

She frowned, her eyebrows furrowing. "I thought you changed," she said quietly, accusing him.

His silver eyes grew wide at the accusation and he inhaled sharply. 'Fucking hell,' he thought. 'She did _not_ just say that.' He felt the words pierce his heart but he knew he could not blame her. He should have expected that coming after he had insulted her. She didn't really know it was nowhere close as to how he truly felt for her. Draco loved her dearly. It had been a long time since that word even crossed his mind. Blood status was no longer an issue.

He shouldn't have said it. The moment the word slipped from his mouth and her mouth formed into a tiny 'O' he knew it had been a mistake. More than likely, it would have pushed her in the opposite direction of his cause. Hermione would feel even more inclined to go out with Ron and show him defiantly just what she thought of Pureblood supremacy. He could not even blame on Ron if she were to now flee the room and into his arms.

Hermione shook her head, blinking to hold back the tears in her eyes. She left the common room without another word.


End file.
